


One Last Chance

by twin192



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-21 12:57:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 76,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4829921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twin192/pseuds/twin192
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beca, 16, has been in and out of foster homes half her life. This next one will be her last chance to get back on the right track before being cast out of the system. Chloe, 16, is very popular in school and not very happy with her parents decision to register as foster parents. AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! :) Just a few words in the beginning. This story is completely made up. I don't have any personal experience with this, only the internet, so there can be some irregularities to the way it's done in real life. This story will contain abuse, but it won't be graphic. I'll mention it, but won't go into too much detail. If anyone get's offended by that, I'm sorry, but this story won't be for you. Just choose one of the hundreds of other awesome fics on this site :) Oh, and I rated this story M just to be on the safe side. Now enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

„What do you want, you freak? Go sit somewhere else“ was snarled in Beca's direction when she came into the big kitchen and wanted to sit down for some cereal.

She looked flatly at the two girls sitting at the counter for a moment but then decided to just ignore them. It wasn't worth the effort when she would be out of the house in the next few hours. She quickly poured herself some cereal in a bowl and took it with her to the other end of the kitchen. She preferred to eat somewhere else but it wasn't allowed.

She has been in this group home for the past two months and it's been driving her insane. The other teenagers were aged from 13 to 17 and didn't particularly like Beca. They were jealous of her for getting another chance so soon and didn't let her forget it for even one day.

Her next foster home would be her fourth one. Normally kids would only get one or maybe two chances. For Beca to have been given so much chances and still coming back to the group home every single time didn't sit well with the other kids, who put up a harsh front but secretly only wanted to get another chance as well. They thought Beca was ungrateful for all those chances, that she deliberately messed up in her past homes and that she was just plain weird for not talking much.

 _If only they knew_ , Beca thought darkly as she quickly finished her breakfast. She put the bowl in the dishwasher and quickly went back to her room. Normally she would have to share a room with two or three others, but since the other girls didn't want anything to do with her, they all shared another bedroom down the hall. Beca wasn't really sorry about that since she got her own room out of that.

The room was a standard room for group homes. Beca would know, she's been in several different ones. There were three beds shoved headfirst under a small window. There was only just enough room for someone to walk between the beds. A small table with three chairs was shoved next to a small wardrobe. The walls were a plain white, same as the linens on the beds.

Beca slowly made her way to the bed on the far right and plopped down into it. She wanted to get a nap in before Marie would pick her up in the afternoon.

Marie has been her new social worker for the last three weeks after her old one had neglected his responsibilities a little too much, which resulted in Beca getting sent to another group home after a visit in the hospital.

Before she could think a little more about her new social worker or drifting off into a nap, her ringing phone reminded her that she had forgotten to call her best friend yesterday evening once again.

She groaned and quickly located her phone. She saw that she had been right in her assumption when the name 'Weirdo' greeted her on the screen. She quickly swiped at the little green button on her phone and put the phone to her ear.

“What's up, dude?”

“You forgot to call. Again. I thought we agreed that you would call me every night at 9? I was worried.”

The sad and worried tone in her best friends voice hit her right in the heart and she started feeling guilty.

“I'm sorry Jesse. I was really tired and listened to music. I must have fallen asleep.”

Jesse led out a big sigh.

“I'm not mad at you Beca. I'm just really worried about you. Especially after these last few months.”

Beca hated when he brought up her past and ignored the comment completely.

“I'm fine. So, what's been going on with you? Anything new?”

Jesse laughed loudly. “We've talked two days ago. I've just been going to school and helping out around the house. Nothing major.”

“What about the blonde you are always talking about? Has she talked to you yet or are you still pining after her from the background?” Beca loved teasing her best friend. He always became flustered very quickly and forgot his train of thoughts. She often used this to her advantage when he got a little persistent in his inquiries about whether she was alright.

“Stop it. And no, for your information, she hasn't talked to me yet. But she can't ignore me forever. I've got a class with her. I hope we'll be doing a lot of group work in the future. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you nervous about this afternoon? Do you know where you're going yet? How do you like Marie so far?”

“You could let me answer a question before asking new ones. Would make this a lot easier.” Beca said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. Not that Jesse could see that but she did it on principle.

“Shush, Beca. Now start talking.”

“That's kind of contradictory, don't you think? And you sure are nosy, Swanson. No, I don't know where I'm going yet. Marie said that the family she has in mind only just registered as foster parents and the paperwork has to go through before she can tell me anything. But since she hasn't called yet, I guess everything is in order and I'll be out of here in a few hours. And why would I be nervous? I've done this before if you recall.”

“That's why I'm worried.” Jesse knew that Beca hated when he talked about her past, so he tried to avoid it at most times but sometimes he had to say something.

“Just let it go Jesse. There is no use in worrying before I know anything. You know that I wanted to stay here for the last two years but Mrs. Plum said that I had to go. So even if it's going to be awful, I have no choice. I don't want to stress myself out beforehand.”

Jesse gave up. If Beca didn't want to talk about stuff she wouldn't. He had tried a lot in the last few years to get her to talk but Beca could shut people out extremely quickly when she didn't like what they were talking about. He didn't want to fight with her, so he got back to one of his earlier questions.

“Okay. So, what about Marie? Are you two getting along well?”

“I've only known her for about three weeks. But she seems to care, I guess. We'll see.” Beca never got along with her former social worker and was glad that she got a new one.

“Give her a chance, Becs. She's been my social worker for the last four years and look how I turned out.”

Beca snorted. “Yeah, that's what I aspire to be. A bumbling junior in high school who doesn't even have the balls to ask the girl he likes out. No thank you.”

“You know what I mean. I think I'm doing very well. I've been getting good grades, I get along with my foster parents and they are even saving money so I can go to college if I want to. Don't you want that too? Someone you can depend on?”

“I don't need anyone. I can only depend on myself. It's been that way since my grandma died, why would I want to change that? This way, I'll be the only one who can hurt or disappoint myself. Less trouble that way.”

“That hurts, you know? You can count on me, you know that. I'd do anything for you.”

Beca sighed. “I know. I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. Of course I can depend on you, but you're not always here. And if you're not, I have only myself. And I like it that way. I hope the next family will leave me alone until I graduate. After that I'm out of here.”

“You've been saying that for years Becs, but where would you go? With no money and no support, you won't get far.”

“I don't know where I would go, but anywhere is better than here.”

“Let's continue that another time. I know I have no chance of convincing you right now. But I will, you'll see.”

“Yeah yeah, we'll see. Keep trying.”

“So, are you all packed?”

Beca looked around and found her two bags on the ground next to her bed. She had shoved every item of clothing she had (which weren't much) into one bag and her other stuff like her headphones and some pictures of her and her grandma into the other bag this morning.

“I guess so. I don't have much so packing went pretty fast.” she joked.

“Why won't you let me buy you some stuff? I've been offering for years now and you are always refusing. It would be much easier for you if you just accepted help once in a while.”

“I'm fine. I've got everything I need.”

“You are really stubborn, you know that? Just wait, I'll get you to agree one of these days. Anyway, good luck with the new family today, I have to cut this conversation short. I have to make a quick grocery run. Will you call me as soon as you have a minute to yourself?”

“I will. Don't worry Jesse. It will be fine. Go do your stuff. I'll just take a nap until Marie shows up.”

“Okay. Let's talk later. Bye Becs.”

“Bye Jesse.”

Beca hang up her phone and closed her eyes. If she was honest with herself she was a little nervous. Her last homes had a lot to be desired, mildly put. She would gladly spent the rest of her teenage years in these group homes minding her own business. She didn't want to have to deal with another new family who would pretend to be nice at first only to abuse and exploit her as soon as the social worker looked the other way.

She had long given up on the dream of a new family that would want her. The only person who has ever loved her has been her grandma Elizabeth. Well, and Jesse, but that's a friendly love and not a parental one. Her grandma had taken care of her for the first six years of her life and Beca had loved her dearly. Sarah, her mother, didn't really care about her and was a drunk. She happily gave Beca over to her mother when she asked. Custody remained with Sarah though, because they were living in the same house and they wanted to avoid the paperwork.

Beca has been a mostly happy child in her early years. She couldn't understand why her mama didn't want anything to do with her, but her grandma always held her when she was crying over it. Elizabeth helped her granddaughter with everything, she read her books in the evening, she played with her in the park, she answered every 'Why'-question when Beca had that phase and took her to every doctor's appointment.

Beca had been very curious and very clumsy from very early on in her life. She would try to do everything herself and got herself hurt regularly. Nothing serious, just a few bruises and scrapes and a burn or two when she decided she wanted to cook her grandma breakfast when she had been five. Elizabeth put a band-aid on her injuries every time and it would magically hurt less.

Her mother ignored her for the most part and Beca tried less and less to get her attention. Which is why she was even more devastated when her grandma suddenly died of a heart attack when Beca had just turned six.

Sarah was just as dependent on her mother as Beca. She couldn't deal with all the things she had to take care of now. The house and the funeral and taking care of a child. She drunk more and more and even lost her job.

Beca had never been more grateful for her grandma's cooking lessons after the incident when Beca had been five than at that time. She knew how to cook herself basic meals and knew the way to school on her own.

It hadn't been easy after her grandma's death. But she had dealt with it.

She was very independent by the time she was eight. She thought it was going okay until she came home one afternoon to find her mother lying on the couch with a few empty bottles of alcohol on the ground and an empty bottle of sleeping pills.

She tried to wake her mom up but she wouldn't move at all. Beca quickly called the ambulance from the house phone. She went to the hospital with the paramedics, but it had been too late already. Sarah Mitchell had overdosed and left Beca all alone.

There was no other family to take her in so she was taken to her first of many group homes.

Not wanting to remember the rest of her pitiful life, Beca quickly played some music on her phone and was asleep in minutes.

 

Four hours later, Beca was woken by her ringing phone. She blindly searched for it and accepted the call.

“-llo?” she mumbled into the phone and sat up to help her wake up a little faster.

“Beca? It's Marie. The papers finally went through and everything is in order now for your move. I'll be there in about an hour and pick you up. Is that okay?”

“Do I have to?” she asked quietly.

Marie sighed on the other end of the line. “We've talked about this. I've spoken with the Beales a few times and they seem really nice. Please give them a chance, you can't stay in that group home forever.”

Beca and Marie had had that conversation a few times over the last few weeks. Marie had won the argument every single time but that didn't deter the brunette girl from trying again and again. But Beca also detested pointless conversations and gave up pretty quickly this time. She knew that she couldn't change it anymore now that the paperwork was through.

“Fine. Yes, I've packed my stuff already so you can show up whenever you want. There is nothing for me here.”

“Are you still not getting along with the other girls?”

Beca snorted. “It's more that they are not getting along with me. They don't like me and I can't change that. Not that I want to. The good thing about all this is that I don't have to see them again after this. Thank god for small mercies.”

“Hey, be nice. Well, since you are already packed, I'll quickly grab my stuff and come and get you. Don't forget to say goodbye and thank you to Mrs. Plum. I'll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Yeah yeah, I will. But I bet she will be glad that I'm gone this soon. She didn't like me either.”

“Let's talk about that later. I'll be there soon, okay?”

“Yeah, Bye.”

“Bye Beca!”

Marie hang up quickly and Beca rolled out of bed. She quickly wondered if she should change for the meeting with the Beales, but decided against it. Chucks, skinny jeans and a black long-sleeved t-shirt had to do the trick. No use in pretending that she was someone else. They would figure out the truth soon enough.

She put her phone and everything else that was still on her bed into her bags and took both of them downstairs. She put them next to the door and went in search of the group home leader.

Mrs. Plum was a small pudgy woman in her fifties. She had been the leader of the group home for the last fifteen years and was a decent person. She wasn't warm and friendly but her kids always had something to eat and a place to sleep. She made them go to school and took them to the hospital if the need arose. Which happened more than Beca had thought. But she shouldn't be surprised with 6 -10 teenagers living in the house regularly.

She found the older woman in the kitchen where she was unloading the dishwasher.

“Mrs. Plum?” Beca slowly closed in on the other woman who turned around when she was addressed.

“Rebecca. What can I do for you?” She said without much emotion and turned back around to finish unloading the dishwasher.

“My social worker just called and said that she'll be here and get me in twenty minutes to take me to my new foster family. I wanted to let you know and thank you for all you did for me.”

Mrs. Plum turned around and looked at the fidgeting girl in front of her for a whole minute. Beca grew more and more nervous as the staring continued. She was about to say something when Mrs. Plum came up to her and gave her a quick hug. Beca squeaked in surprise and wanted nothing more than for the woman to let her go. She couldn't handle physical contact. At all. She was always a recluse and not very social but since what happened at her last foster home, she detested being touched.

“Good luck girl. I know that you had it rough, but don't let that stop you from finding family and love.”

Beca finally managed to get out of the hug and wanted to ask Mrs. Plum what that was all about but the older woman was already back at work.

The brunette girl hesitated for a moment but then turned around to get out of the room.

She threw a quick “Thanks, good bye.” over her shoulder and grabbed her bags. She went outside and sat down on the stairs to make herself comfortable while waiting for Marie to arrive.

She only had to wait for about 10 minutes until an old blue Ford came around the corner. Beca ran to her social workers car quickly, put her two bags in the back seat and plopped down in the passenger seat next to Marie. She told her a quick “Hey” so she wouldn't be impolite but didn't say anything else. She looked out of the window and wondered why they weren't driving yet.

She turned back around to look at Marie. The woman had a nice, friendly smile and long brown hair. She was about thirty and wore a stylish black blouse and blue jeans and sneakers. Beca liked the way the other woman dressed, it suited her and didn't look grown up at all. “What are we waiting for?”

Marie smiled. “Well, you seem eager today. Not so badass and unfeeling as you want to make everyone believe, huh?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “I'm not eager. I just want out of this house. The other girls have been driving me insane. Can we go?”

“I'll have to run in quickly and tell Mrs. Plum that I'm taking you. We don't want her to think you've been kidnapped off her porch.”

“I told her already, let's just go.”

“Rules are rules. I'll be back in two minutes.” Marie quickly got up and wandered into the group home.

Before Beca could make herself comfortable and maybe fall asleep to escape the coming conversation, Marie was already back and starting the car.

After driving for about five minutes, Marie broke the silence.

“Aren't you curious at all? Don't you want to know where I'm taking you?”

Beca continued looking out of the window but replied. “Not really. I don't have a choice in the matter, so why would I get angry about where you're taking me? It's not my decision. I'll see when we get there.”

Marie pouted. “You're no fun. And so serious, lighten up. Fine, you didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway. You're staying in Atlanta. And you're going to the same school as Jesse.”

Beca's eyes lit up. “Really?” She asked excitedly as she watched Marie's smug smile.

“Yep. It's only about half an hour from here and the Beale's live just about ten minutes away from Jesse. So meeting up will be easier for you two.”

Beca smiled brightly. She was thankful to be in the same school as her best friend. The awkward new girl thing had been getting old pretty quickly.

Trying to remain true to her reputation, Beca quickly hid her true feelings behind a sarcastic smirk and replied. “Cool.”

Marie laughed. “Oh you're so adorable, trying to look cool and uninterested. But I have seen through that smirk. I know you are happy about this, so don't deny it.”

Beca didn't reply. Marie sighed deeply but smiled non the less. “Do you want to know about the Beales?”

Beca shrugged. “Not really.”

Now it was Marie's turn to roll her eyes. “Sure. I'll tell you anyway. So the parents are Claire and Andrew Beale. Claire is working from home, she's a writer. Well, she writes cook books, but I guess that still means she's a writer? I don't know. Anyway, Andrew works in a big company as a manager. Something with computers and IT. They were very nice when I talked to them and they are really excited to meet you. They just registered as foster parents a few weeks ago and didn't think they would get someone this soon.”

“Get someone? I'm not property.” Beca said angrily.

Marie looked at her guiltily when they had to stop at a red light.

“I'm sorry, wrong choice of words. I think you would get along well with them.”

Beca was still angry at the earlier comment and replied in anger again. “How would you know? You've known me for three weeks.”

“I just think they would be a good fit. And it feels like I have known you longer from all the stuff Jesse has told me, so I just thought...”

Beca's heart started beating very fast and she nearly shrieked her next words. “What?! 'All the stuff Jesse has told you...'? Has he been talking about me behind my back? To his social worker of all people?!!”

Marie winced at Beca's harsh tone and had an 'oh shit' expression on her face. Jesse had told her some stuff in confidence and told her to never tell Beca anything about it because if she found out the shit would really hit the fan. Beca was an extremely private person and didn't appreciate other people talking about her. At all.

He said he'd been worried about Beca and since Marie was doing a good job as his social worker he asked her if she could maybe try to get Beca under her care as well. She needed some details to be persuaded, but quickly agreed after Jesse told her some stuff.

“Calm down. He told me nothing specific. Just that he's been worried about you.”

Beca snorted. “Sure. When that dude starts talking it's like the beginning of a water fall. He never stops with just one thing. What has he told you?”

“It wasn't much, I swear. You should talk to him.”

Beca looked out of the window angrily. “Oh, you can be sure that I'll be talking to that snitch.”

Marie sent a quick mental sorry in Jesse direction but continued driving. She decided to ignore the earlier topic and continue with the Beales.

“Well, Claire and Andrew have two kids. The older one has just finished high school and enrolled into the army last summer. His name is Nathan and he is 19. The daughter's name is Chloe and she is the same age as you. Since Nathan isn't living with them anymore, it will be just Claire, Andrew, Chloe and you. I'm sure he will visit for the holidays though.”

Beca only hummed a little and tried to seem uninterested. In reality she was glad that the Beales had kids. All her former foster families didn't and that didn't work out well for Beca. She prayed that this home would be different.

Before she could prepare herself mentally, Marie arrived at a driveway and stopped the car. She turned around and watched Beca for a moment.

“We're here.”

“Hm. Let's get this over with.” Beca said but was secretly trembling with nerves. She got her bags out from the back seat and followed Marie to the front door.

Here goes nothing, she thought as Marie pressed the door bell. She heard some voices from inside and a few seconds later the door was opened.

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this. I still have another story going but I couldn't help myself and had to start with this one. The idea has been floating inside my head for the past few weeks and I had to put it on paper (or screen). So, I hope you liked it, and if you did please leave a review to let me know :)**


	2. Chapter 2

“But mom, why do we have to take her in? I know that you should help people in need and I’m all for that, but why now? I’ve got a lot on my plate in school right now and I just don’t have the time to show her the ropes.” A red headed girl with bright blue eyes was pacing in the kitchen and arguing with her mother. 

“Chloe, this isn’t your responsibility. Beca is 16 and old enough to take care of herself. We’re here to give her a roof over her head and maybe give her a family if she wants one. We’ve talked about this a few weeks ago and you agreed. What has changed your mind?” Claire Beale, a tall blonde woman with crystal clear blue eyes, asked her daughter. 

Chloe stopped for a moment and plopped down into a chair next to her mom. She sighed deeply.

“I just don’t have the time for something like that right now. And who knows what kind of person she is. We don’t know her and you’ll let her sleep here? She could just get up one night to steal from us and be gone in the morning. Aubrey said she had a neighbor once, who…”

Claire interrupted her daughter with a raised hand. “So that’s it? Aubrey said something and now you’re completely against the idea? You know I love Aubrey like another daughter but I don’t necessarily agree with her world view. Not everyone is bad. In fact most people are good, they just don’t show that to most people. What did she say to make you change your mind? You are usually such a friendly and open person, Chloe.”

Chloe put her head into her hands and leaned over the table in a way that made her beautiful red hair fall around her shoulders and obscured Claire’s view of her daughter’s face.

Claire scooted her chair closer to her daughter and wrapped her arms around the red head. “Talk to me sweetie.”

Chloe leaned back a little so her mother could hug her properly. “It’s just… Bree said that I am too trusting and that people would exploit me. That I have to be careful with people I don’t know, especially after what happened with Justin…” Before Chloe could shut her mouth to keep that little detail from escaping, it was too late and Claire had already heard.

The older woman moved back from the hug and made Chloe look into her eyes. “Baby, what do you mean? What happened?”

Chloe tried to look in another direction but her mothers hand quickly found Chloe’s chin and made her look her in the eyes. “Nothing…” she mumbled. 

Claire let her daughter’s chin go but pulled her into another hug. “You can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?”

“I know, mom. But it’s nothing. He was drunk and nothing happened. It just scared me a little but Bree was there and scared him off.”

“Can you maybe begin at the beginning?” Claire was starting to get worried. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to let a stranger in the house when her daughter was having such problems with it. 

Chloe tried to think of something to distract her mom, but couldn’t think of anything. She knew her mother was like a dog with a bone when she thought something was up. Chloe had never managed to keep a secret from her mom for long, the older woman just had a way of convincing the red headed girl that telling her everything was a good idea. And Chloe accepted that when she was a child, but found it quite annoying in recent years. Sadly, that resulted in Chloe not being able to lie because she never tried it before. Her shoulders dropped a little as she prepared herself for telling her mom what happened almost two weeks ago. She sat back in her chair and looked at her mom.

“It’s nothing, but if you must know I’ll tell you. You know how Bree and Stacie took me to a party two weeks ago?”

Claire just hummed affirmatively. She had noticed that her daughter had acted a little strange the next morning but blamed the alcohol her daughter had surely consumed.

“Well, we were dancing and the music was pretty awesome. After dancing for a while we got thirsty and Bree offered to get us some water. I hung out with Stacie for a few minutes but then an old friend of hers called her over and she told me that she would be right back. Bree was taking so long and it was hot in the house so I decided to get some air. I went to the garden and leaned at the house wall. I just wanted to cool down a bit. I noticed that no one was around and wondered where everybody was, but before I could question it anymore, Justin turned up. He’s in my pre-calculus class and I thought it would be impolite to ignore him, so I said hi.”

Claire was listening closely as her daughter talked and became more and more worried as the story continued.

“Well, he said hi back but I noticed that he was pretty drunk by the way he was staggering. He came over to me and started telling me that he always liked me and that I should just give him a chance. He pushed me against the wall and wanted to kiss me, but I slapped him. He paused for a moment but tried to grab me again just as Bree came out of the house to look for me. You should have seen her, mom, I have never seen her that furious. She threw our drinks in his face and screamed at him until nearly every person at the party came outside to see what was going on. She ran over to me in the confusion and got me out of there. She brought me home and comforted me, but not before giving me a lecture about being too trusting to strangers. She told me I had to be more careful and that she was worried about your decision to register as foster parents. I tried to tell her that we had decided this together and I don't have a problem with it, but then she told me about her neighbor and I got a little worried.”

When Chloe didn't say anything else, Claire moved forward and hugged her daughter tightly.

“Why didn't you tell me about this, sweetie? I'm glad that you're okay, but even if nothing serious happened, I'm sure you were scared. Did you talk to him again after that?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, I've been avoiding him so far. Stacie and Aubrey are in the same class I have with him and they make sure to never leave me alone with him. I think he wanted to apologize a few times but Bree glared him into submission before he got the guts to come over. I'm not scared of him, but I don't really want to talk to him either.”

“That's understandable. Be sure to keep the girls with you the next few weeks.”

Chloe smiled, glad that she had told her mom. Even if she couldn't help her with the situation, just talking about it helped her a lot.

Claire gave Chloe a final squeeze and stood up to go over to the fridge. 

“So now that we got that out of the way, how about you tell me what Aubrey said about her neighbor and why that worries you in regards to Beca.”

Chloe stood up as well and went over to her mother to help preparing the dinner. It was already 5 pm and her dad would be home soon. Beca would arrive sometime in the evening as well. She grabbed some carrots to chop as she noticed her mother getting the ingredients for her famous lasagna out of the fridge. She sat down at the table again and began chopping while her mom prepared the meat and sauce. 

“Well, she told me that her neighbor's parents registered as foster parents as well and the first foster child they got was a kleptomaniac fourteen year old dude. He's been nice and all but after living with them for two weeks, they noticed that things were disappearing slowly. They thought they were just misplacing them at first but when money started vanishing, they had a talk with the boy and he admitted to stealing. He wasn't even sorry and said that they had so much stuff, they wouldn't miss the small things. After that their relationship began to drop and they eventually sent him back. They tried again a few months after that but the boy they got that time was very violent if provoked and hurt Aubrey's neighbor.”

Claire hummed, deep in thought.

“That's unfortunate and I'm sorry about what happened to them, but I don't think this applies to Beca. I've been talking to her social worker Marie a few times and she said that Beca was silent and closed off, but that she was a great girl in general. She's apparently been through a lot and she just needs a quiet home to finish her high school years. She can't do that in a group home, where there are so many other kids. And since she was also 16, I thought you two would become friends.”

Chloe finished chopping the carrots and walked over to her mom to slide them slowly into the sauce that was cooking on the oven. 

“It's not that I think that this Beca will be a bad person, but I'm just a little worried about a stranger in our house. I'm not sure she will listen to anything we say. She's a teenager after all.”

Claire chuckled and winked at her daughter. “I know all about that. And she can't be worse than you, little princess.”

Chloe took offense to that and was about to defend herself when both women heard the lock turn in the front door. A deep but friendly voice shouted a short “I'm home! Are you here girls?”

Claire shouted a short “In the kitchen” and continued stirring the sauce. She turned around to her daughter for a moment to look her in the eyes. “If you really are uncomfortable with Beca living with us, I'm sure we can come up with something.”

Chloe scrunched up her nose. “No, it's fine. I don't want to be rude and I don't know her yet. I shouldn't judge her before meeting her. We'll see how it goes, okay?”

The older Beale woman smiled. “That's my girl. Thanks for agreeing to try this. Now, go along and look where your father has disappeared to. He promised to help with dinner and I'm already nearly done. Go get him for me, would you?”

Chloe nodded and went in search of her father. She found him in the living room, just sitting down and quietly starting the TV. He was a tall man, with short red hair and kind brown eyes. Chloe had gotten her beautiful red tresses from him. She crossed her arms in front of her body and scowled at him. “No.” She said and glared at her dad. 

Andrew looked up at his daughter guiltily. “But Chloe-bear! The game!” he whined quietly so his wife wouldn't hear him.

Chloe wasn't having any of it and shook her head slowly. “Mom said you promised to help her in the kitchen. Go and do that, you can always watch the game later.”

Andrew drew out the big guns and began pouting. Chloe knew that it was an effective weapon because she used it regularly herself. The red headed girl avoided eye contact with her dad, as that was the only way to avoid the famous Beale pouting technique.

“No dad. You promised and you always told me that you had to keep your promises.” Wanting a little payback on her dad because he used the secret weapon of the Beale family against his own daughter, she began pouting herself and let her bright blue eyes fill with tears. “Or did you lie to me daddy?”

Andrew groaned loudly and fell back into the couch. He had his eyes closed with one hand on his head. “Don't do this to me Babygirl. I'm sorry, I'll go and help your mother.”

Chloe grinned triumphantly as she watched her father's slow and sluggish walk into the kitchen. She decided to use the time before dinner was ready to take a quick shower and ran upstairs.

Fifteen minutes later she came downstairs again, as the aroma of the lasagna spread throughout the house. She was wearing a pale blue sweater which was two sizes too big for her, some short dark blue jeans and had her still wet hair in a bun at the top of her head. She wasn't wearing any make-up and didn't bother to put on socks.

Just as she was walking into the kitchen to start setting the table, she heard the ringing of their door bell.

All three of them stood up to open the door, but Claire motioned for the other two to sit down again and went to open the door herself.

Chloe would be lying if she said she wasn't curios about this girl. Her parents hadn't told her much about her except for her name and age. She waited anxiously for her mother to come back into the room. 

She did two minutes later with a woman who looked to be in her thirty’s, who had long brown hair and wore a stylish black blouse and jeans. Chloe really liked the sneakers the woman was wearing. They were white with awesome blue highlights.

Walking in behind her mother and the woman who could only be Marie the social worker, was a short brunette girl with long auburn tresses and a blank expression on her face. She was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and some skinny jeans. When the girl looked around a little, Chloe noticed the millions of ear-rings in the other girls ears. She had to admit that the smaller girl rocked the alternative bad girl look. 

Before Chloe could muster the other girl a little more, her mother decided it was time to end the awkward silence and introduced everyone. 

“Andrew, Chloe? This is Beca and her social worker Marie. Beca, Marie, this is my husband Andrew and my daughter Chloe.”

Marie smiled and went over to the other two Beales to shake their hands. Beca stayed put where she was but gave a short wave in their direction. 

Andrew, being a very friendly and open person, came over to Beca and gave her a big hug. Chloe noticed the other girl stiffen up and saw the wide-eyed and panicked look on Beca's face. As soon as her father let the girl go, Chloe noticed that Beca's hands were trembling.

Mr. Beale didn't seem to notice the girls reaction and just smiled brightly at Beca. “It's nice to meet you. I hope you'll like it here.”

Beca only nodded and continued to watch everyone with a wide-eyed look on her face.

Claire, being the great host she is, invited Marie to stay for dinner. The social worker agreed and soon the three Beales, a still shaken brunette girl and a concerned looking Marie were sitting at the kitchen table after Claire had gotten the lasagna out of the oven and Chloe had quickly set some plates down on the table.

They each put some lasagna on their plates and started eating. Not being used to so much awkward silence, Claire decided to break it by asking questions.

“So Beca,” As soon as she heard her name, Beca dropped her fork onto her plate and turned around to look at the blonde woman.

“How was the drive over here? Did it take long?”

Beca shook her head. “No, it was fine.”

“Are you excited about starting a new school?”

The brunette girl shrugged her shoulders. “Not really. I've done it so many times, I don't really care anymore.”

Chloe was getting interested now and decided to question the small girl sitting in front of her herself.

“Really? Isn't it always exciting? Meeting new people and making new friends?”

Beca looked at Chloe for a moment but averted her eyes quickly much to the taller girls confusion. Why wouldn't she look people in the eyes when they were talking to her? 

“The excitement quickly wears off, believe me. And no, meeting new people is always stressing me out. I don't really bother making friends.”

Chloe gaped at Beca. “But why? Having Friends is the best thing about school!”

Beca only shrugged and looked down at her plate.

When the silence went on a little too long, Marie decided to break it by asking questions about the Beales. About their jobs and their lives. She knew most of the stuff already but asked the questions again for Beca's sake. She knew the young girl wouldn't ask anytime soon. 

Twenty minutes later they were finished with eating dinner. Chloe noticed that Beca hadn't really eaten much, preferring to push her food around her plate. Taking pity on the brunette girl, who looked ready to keel over from exhaustion, Chloe quickly suggested showing Beca the house. The grown-ups agreed and Chloe led Beca out of the kitchen, down the hallway and into the living-room.

“Well, this is the living-room. I know you're tired, so I'll keep it brief, okay?” 

Beca nodded gratefully and followed Chloe through the rooms. 

“This is the my parents room, this is the downstairs bathroom and the door under the stairs leads into the basement. I'll show you tomorrow. You and me will sleep upstairs. Do you want to take your bags with you?” Chloe asked as they stopped in front of the stairs. 

Beca nodded and quickly got her two small bags. 

Chloe eyed them sceptically. “Is this everything? Where is all your stuff?”

“That's all I have.” Beca answered curtly and started her way up the stairs.

Chloe winced at her rude sounding question and decided to quickly apologize for her thoughtless comment. She hurried after Beca and caught up to her at the top of the stairs.

She put a hand on the other girl shoulder to get her attention but quickly retracted it after Beca flinched violently away from her.

“Sorry, about this and the other comment. I don't know you and your life, so I should be careful with what I say.”

Beca looked around the hallway uncomfortably and murmured a short “It's fine” under her breath.

Chloe heard her and smiled. Noticing the awkward fidgeting she quickly continued her house tour.

“So, we've got a bathroom” Chloe motioned to a door right to the left of the stairs, “my room” she motioned to the room on the left of the bathroom, “my brothers room”, she pointed at the door straight across from the bathroom, “and finally the guest room, that will be yours”. She motioned to a door straight across from Chloe's door and next to Chloe's brothers room. 

She went ahead to the guest room, opened the door and walked right in. Beca followed after her carefully. Chloe turned in a small circle in the middle of the room and held her arms up wide. “So, this is it. You've got a bed, a desk, a dresser, a computer and some shelfs. If it's not enough, I'm sure we can get my dad to install some more storage space.”

Beca looked wide-eyed at the spacious room in front of her. She had curtains. Actual curtains. Beca hadn't had those in the last few years. They were a pale purple, just like the comforter on the bed. She marveled at the Computer on the desk and was positively surprised by the colorful paintings on the wall. She smiled a little as she took everything in. She wanted to start exploring immediately but was reminded of her tired state by the big yawn that stretched her mouth as wide as it would go.

Chloe noticed and walked over to the door. “I can see that you are tired. I'll leave you be for now. You know where my room is if you have any questions?”

Beca nodded.

“You remember where the bathroom is?”

Beca nodded again. This time her left eyebrow was starting to twitch in annoyance. 

Chloe smiled. “Okay then. Good night, Beca.”

“Good night, Chloe. Thanks for the tour.” Beca murmured.

“No problem, see you tomorrow.” That being said, Chloe turned around and closed the door after herself. 

The first thing Beca did as soon as she was alone, was to check if the door had a lock. Thankfully it did and she turned the key around quickly. She relaxed monumentally after the soft click of the lock jumping into place registered in her mind. She let out a loud breath and sat down on the bed. She was so tired she only managed to get her shoes off her feet before falling asleep on top of the comforter.

 

As soon as the girls were gone from the kitchen, Marie looked at Claire and Andrew with a serious expression on her face. 

“I just want to talk to you about a few things. Do you have a few minutes?”

Claire and Andrew nodded.

Marie sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair.

“Beca is a sweet girl. Don't let yourselves be distracted by her harsh exterior. She's trying to protect herself by portraying a badass attitude. I'm just asking you to give her a chance. She's been through a lot, a lot more than we know, because she won't talk about it. I want this home to work out for her. As I already told you I've only been Beca's social worker for a few weeks now. Her former social worker didn't take his job as seriously as he should have and Beca had to pay the price. So I wanted to ask you to bear with me and maybe let me check in on Beca once a week in the beginning. I won't bother you, I'll just come over for a few minutes and check in with her.”

Claire and Andrew had grim expressions on their faces but nodded anyway.

Andrew decided to speak. “That's no problem. You can come as often as you like. You said that Beca had to pay a price. Has she been hurt?”

Marie nodded gravely. “More than you will probably ever know. But I ask of you, please don't pity her. She hates it with a passion and will shut down faster than you can blink. Just treat her like a normal teenager. I think that will be best for her.”

The Beales nodded. “We'll do our best. We want to give her a home.” Claire said quietly.

Marie smiled. “That's more than anyone could ask of you. I'm glad you decided to register as foster parents, you are one of the nicest families I have ever met. It's getting late, I think I'll be going. I'm giving you a call sometime next week to tell you when I'll come and check on Beca, okay?”

Andrew nodded as the three adults made their way to the front door. “Of course. It's been nice meeting you. Have a safe trip home.”

Marie nodded. “Thanks. Please take care of her?”

Claire smiled. “We will. Good night, Marie.”

Marie smiled back at the friendly couple and climbed back into her car. She started the engine and quickly went home, quietly hoping that it would work out for Beca this time.

 

A/N: Wuhu, chapter two is done! Next time we'll see more from Beca's point of view. Originally, I wanted to wait with this chapter until I finished the next chapter for 'Roommates', but I got carried away at work ;) (*Pssst* don't tell anyone)... Thanks guys, for the amazing support! I didn't expect so much response for only one chapter. You are awesome! I'm ridiculously happy every time my phone lights up with another E-Mail notification.   
Something unrelated: I listened to Rachel Platten's 'Fight Song' (the cover by Caleb Hyles) while writing this and he is seriously awesome. Go check him out if you have the time. I promise you won't be disappointed. So, enough with the boring author's note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, please leave a little review to let me know :)


	3. Chapter 3

Beca woke up crying and with sweat soaked clothes.

 _Damn_ , she thought, another one of those nightmares. _When will they finally stop?!_

She slowly got up from the bed and tried to calm down her breathing and wildly beating heart. She noticed that it was still dark outside. When she couldn't calm down after five minutes of trying, she quickly grabbed her bag, unlocked the door and checked if the hallway in front of it was clear.

Luckily it was and she made her way downstairs quietly. She slowly opened the front door and put her bag down between the door and the wall so it wouldn't slam shut. She got her lighter and her cigarettes out of the front pocket of the bag and walked a few steps out on the porch.

She sat down heavily on the few steps leading up to the door and lit up a cigarette. The calming and familiar moves of puffing the cigarette finally calmed her down and cleared her head up enough so she could start thinking about what had happened the evening before.

 

_“Hm. Let's get this over with.” Beca said but was secretly trembling with nerves. She got her bags out from the back seat and followed Marie to the front door._

_Here goes nothing, she thought as Marie pressed the door bell. She heard some voices from inside and a few seconds later the door was opened._

She was greeted with the smiling face of a tall woman in her early forties with long blonde hair and captivating blue eyes.

“Hello Marie. It's nice to see you again.” Claire Beale shook hands with Marie and turned to Beca shortly after that.

“And you must be Beca. It's nice to meet you. My name is Claire Beale.” She offered her hand for Beca to shake, but the brunette just nodded at the other woman and send her a small smile. She didn't want to look rude at their first meeting but didn't want to shake Claire's hand either.

Sensing that the small teenager didn't really want to talk, Claire quickly stepped back from the door and led the other two in.

“Let's go into the kitchen. My husband and daughter are there, I'll introduce you.”

They made their way into the kitchen where they were greeted by a tall man with short red hair and a red headed girl with wet hair.

Beca's eyes immediately focused on the girl. She couldn't remember ever seeing such a beautiful girl. The most prominent thing about her were her eyes. If Beca thought that Claire had captivating eyes, they had nothing on the girl's. Her eyes had such a clear turquoise blue color that Beca thought she was looking at the ocean at one of those dreamlike beaches she had seen in some magazines. The girl was wearing a big pale blue sweater that only enhanced the effect of her eyes. Her wet red hair was up in a bun that looked cute on her. She was also wearing some jeans shorts and no socks.

Before Beca could fall deeper into her thoughts about the gorgeous ginger girl, her thoughts were interrupted by Claire introducing them.

 _Chloe, huh? Beautiful name_....Beca thought and waved slightly at Andrew and Chloe.

She was startled out of her thoughts when two large arms suddenly enveloped her in between them. Her breath hitched and she started trembling.

 _No, please don't!_ she pleaded in her mind.

She took deep breaths to try and calm herself down but couldn't help the wide-eyed look on her face. She distractedly noticed that Chloe was watching her but couldn't think about that at the moment.

_It's alright, it will be over in a minute, just stand still and you won't be hurt. Focus on something else._

Her eyes were jumping from place to place and tried to find a place to anchor her thoughts. Luckily, Mr Beale let her go before her own body could betray her enough for other people to notice.

“It's nice to meet you. I hope you'll like it here.” He told her with a smile and Beca took a small step backwards and nodded.

She was frantically gathering her thoughts and mechanically went to sit down at the kitchen table when Claire invited Marie to stay for dinner and got the lasagna out of the oven.

Beca noticed that it smelled awesome but her nerves didn't allow her to eat much. She wasn't really paying attention to what was being said, only dropping her fork once when she was startled by Claire, until Chloe started asking her questions.

“Really? Isn't it always exciting? Meeting new people and making new friends?”

Beca tried to look at Chloe while she talked, she knew it would be rude if she didn't, but the conditioning from John sat too deep. So she averted her eyes as she answered Chloe.

“The excitement quickly wears off, believe me. And no, meeting new people is always stressing me out. I don't really bother making friends.”

She noticed that Chloe was gaping at her from the corner of her eyes.

“But why? Having Friends is the best thing about school!”

Not knowing how to answer that question without divulging too much information Beca decided to stay quiet. She listened when Marie took over the conversation and asked some basic stuff about the Beale family. Beca knew that Marie already knew all that and that she was asking the question for Beca's sake. She felt a tiny bit grateful that her new social worker really seemed to care. She didn't really trust her yet, but Jesse told her she was a good social worker.

When the dinner was finally over Beca was grateful when Chloe offered to show her the house. Beca was feeling tired despite her nap in the afternoon and only wanted to go to sleep.

They went into the hallway and Chloe promised Beca that she would keep it brief.

She showed her the rooms but Beca wasn't really paying attention; her thoughts had drifted off again. This time they had wandered to Jesse and her promise that she would call him as soon as she got some free time. She could already see that she would have to disappoint him again. There was no way she could stay awake long enough to call him after the tour was done. She send a mental apology in Jesse's direction and tried to focus on the talking red head in front of her.

“... tomorrow. You and me will sleep upstairs. Do you want to take your bags with you?” Chloe asked as they stopped in front of the stairs.

Hoping that she didn't miss much, Beca nodded and quickly got her two small bags.

Chloe eyed them sceptically. “Is this everything? Where is all your stuff?”

“That's all I have.” Beca answered curtly and started her way up the stairs. She didn't want to be rude but that question had been asked one too many times and Beca couldn't handle another discussion about her measly earthly belongings.

When she arrived at the top of the stairs she felt Chloe's hand on her shoulder and couldn't help but flinch away. Damn it! When is this gonna stop?! Beca thought harshly as she turned around and saw Chloe's apologetic look. She quickly accepted the red head's apology and listened to her as she told her which rooms were up here.

They went to the guest room which would be Beca's from now on. The brunette girl couldn't help but gape when she took in the room. It was bigger than any room she had ever had, even when she was still living with her mom and grandma. There was everything there she could possibly need and she wasn't sure if the curtains in the room weren't just a dream. Everything in this house, from the people to the furniture and house in it self, seemed like a dream come true. But Beca didn't trust in dreams. They always made her wake up at the best moments and threw her back into her miserable life.

She was still taking in her room when a big yawn took over her face.

“I can see that you are tired. I'll leave you be for now. You know where my room is if you have any questions?” Chloe asked as she moved towards the doorway.

Beca nodded.

“You remember where the bathroom is?”

Beca nodded again. This time her left eyebrow was starting to twitch in annoyance. She had been a little distracted but she wasn't stupid.

Chloe smiled. “Okay then. Good night, Beca.”

“Good night, Chloe. Thanks for the tour.” Beca murmured.

“No problem, see you tomorrow.” That being said, Chloe turned around and closed the door after herself.

The last thing Beca remembered was checking and locking the lock at the door and falling onto the bed. After that everything went black.

 

Beca was on her third cigarette when she heard the opening of the door behind her. She turned around and saw that Chloe was making her way over to her.

She sat down next to her and Beca noticed that she was only wearing some shorts, a t-shirt and some slippers.

“You smoke?” Chloe asked softly, not wanting to startle the small brunette.

Beca didn't really want to talk to the other girl. She had specifically come outside to be alone and use the time to think. Knowing she was being rude but not really caring she ignored the red head.

“You know that smoking is bad for your health, right?” Chloe tried again.

When Beca still ignored her, Chloe decided to take matters into her own hands. She leaned over to Beca and snatched the still burning cigarette out of the smaller girl's hand.

Beca jumped a little when Chloe leaned so close to her but quickly became angry when she noticed what the ginger had done.

“Hey! Those are expensive, give that back!” She tried snatching the cigarette back but Chloe was holding it far enough away so Beca couldn't reach it.

“No. Smoking is disgusting and unhealthy.” She threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped her foot down a few times.

Nor really believing what Chloe had just done, she could only gape as one of the only things that could calm her down from a panic attack was being stepped on.

Chloe turned around to Beca and held her hand open. “Give them to me.”

“Are you crazy?” Beca said disbelievingly. “Why are you destroying my things? Have I done anything to you?”

Chloe shook her head but wasn't about to let this go. She hated smoking with a passion and couldn't stand it if people smoked around her. “No, I'm not crazy and you haven't done anything. But I don't want anybody smoking in this house. It's disgusting and stinks.”

“If you haven't noticed, I'm not in the house. Why do you think I went outside? I know that a lot of people have a problem with smoking in their home, so I went outside.”

Chloe sighed deeply. “That's not what I meant. Why do you smoke? Can't you just stop? You must know that it's bad for you.”

“None of your business.” Beca replied curtly and watched the quiet street in front of the house.

“Come on Beca, I know I don't know you but please consider stopping.”

Beca turned around with fire in her eyes. Who did this girl think she was? They've known each other for not even a day and she was already trying to change Beca. _No fucking way_ , Beca thought and glared at Chloe.

“What's it to you? What are you even doing out here? Shouldn't you be asleep?”

“I heard you crying and then leaving the room. When you didn't come back I thought it would be better to come looking for you.”

“Great...” Beca mumbled to herself. “Go back to sleep, Chloe.”

“But are you okay? It sounded like you had a nightmare. You want to talk about it?”

Beca couldn't believe this girl. How could anyone be this nosy?!

“No. Go back to sleep.”

Chloe tried again. “But...”

Beca had enough. “I said no! Go back to sleep and don't bother me any longer!” she shouted at the shocked looking red head.

The shock on Chloe's face quickly turned into anger. “Fine! Stay out here all night and get a cold, I don't care! But if I catch you smoking in the house, there will be hell to pay!” the red head shouted back and stormed into the house. Regretfully, she didn't notice that she kicked Beca's bag into the house while she was storming off and the door slammed shut firmly after her.

 _Great_ , Beca thought. _Now she's locked me out. Well, there's no way I am ringing the door bell._

She looked at her phone she had luckily still in her jeans pocket and noticed that it was just past 4 in the morning.

She was still fuming about the audacity of that girl. Who did she think she was that she could tell Beca what to do?! She ranted in her head for about ten minutes longer but after that she lost her steam quickly. It wasn't a particular cold night out but the wind was going and every once in a while a cold draft would come up to her and make her shiver. She moved to a corner of the porch and curled herself into a ball to try and keep the little body heat she still had in her body. She used the lighter to warm her hands a little but the small flame didn't really do much.

_Well, I got my thinking time. Even though this is not what I meant..._

Half an hour later she was bored out of her mind and decided to call Jesse. He said to call when she was free, he didn't say anything about the time.

She dialed the number and waited. She was about to hang up when a sleepy voice finally answered.

“...eca? Is everything okay?” Jesse mumbled sleepily.

Beca sighed. “Yeah, everything's alright Jesse. Sorry for waking you up.”

“It's okay. You know that you can call me anytime. So how's the new family?”

“Well, they seem nice so far.”

“Come on Becs, you have to give me more than that. There has to be a reason why you're calling me at 5 am.”

“I had a fight with Chloe and she accidentally locked me out of the house.”

“What?! You are outside right now? And who is Chloe? Can you maybe start at the beginning?”

Beca snuggled deeper into her shirt and started telling everything that had happened after their last phone call. Starting with the strange behavior of Mrs Plum up to the fight with Chloe.

When she was finished Jesse sighed deeply at the other end of the line.

“Beca, listen to me. The Beale's sound like a good family. Please don't let this chance pass you by because you had a small fight with Chloe. Talk to her and apologize. Please try Beca, I don't want to see you back in a group home. We both know what it's like there and I don't think you can take much more. Please give them a chance.”

“I know that Jesse. They seem like a nice family but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Be it tomorrow or in six months. You know I can't feel comfortable with people I don't know. And I don't know if I can stay here. I nearly had a panic attack twice already and I've only been here for a few hours. And now I'm sitting outside on the porch because Chloe is nosy. I don't know what I was hoping for anyway. It has never worked out for me with anyone and I don't know why I even got my hope up that it will be different with this family.”

“Beca, listen to me. You just met them. You can't just give up on them because of a few problems in the beginning. I'm sure they also need to learn how to deal with this new situation. They never had a foster child and they need to learn what that means. Give them time.”

“I suppose. There isn't much that I could do anyway. But I don't know if I can deal with Chloe. I think she's pretty angry with me.”

“Just apologize to her.”

“But I don't think I was in the wrong here. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have shouted at her but she shouldn't have taken my cigarettes either. You know I need them.”

“Yes Beca, I do know that but Chloe doesn't. Maybe if you explained it to her she would understand?”

“Are you crazy? Why would I do that? I just met her?”

“Come on Becs, don't be like that. I know you better than that. From the way you described her I can already tell that you like her.”

“Shut it Swanson. I don't liker her, I hardly even know her.”

“We'll see.”

“Whatever. I'll consider what you said. And I don't really have a choice in staying here. I think Marie would get an aneurysm if I called her now and told her that it's not working.”

“Can you maybe not do that? I still need her around for the next two years and she's the only decent social worker I know.”

“Yeah. Well, let's see how the next few days work out. I guess I'll see you on Monday in school then.”

“Wait, aren't you still on the porch? What are you going to do about that?”

Beca shrugged. “Nothing. But I'm still pretty tired. I've slept in worse places than this.”

“Why don't you just ring the door bell? I don't think they will be upset if you wake them up.”

“No way. We both don't know these people. I'll just wait until they are up. Until then I'll catch a few more hours of sleep.”

“But what are you going to tell them why you are out on the porch?”

“Don't know. I'll think of something when the time comes.”

“I guess I can't change your mind then. But don't come crying to me when you get a cold.”

Beca chuckled. “I won't. Get back to sleep, weirdo.”

“You too. Call me tomorrow evening?”

“I guess so. If I don't forget about it.”

“You won't. I know where you live now. I'll come over if you don't call me.”

“Sure. You do that. Got to sleep now.”

“Good night, Becs. Sleep well. Well, as well as you can.”

“You're an ass. Good bye now.”

Before Jesse could say anything else Beca had hung up the phone.

She was really tired by now and could already see the sun coming up in the distance. She snuggled deeper into her clothes and closed her eyes. She was asleep in seconds.


	4. Chapter 4

Claire Beale had always been an early riser. So it was not unusual to see her walking down the stairs at 6.30 am to start her day. She enjoyed starting the day with a quiet cup of coffee and the newspaper. Since it was Sunday, which meant no newspaper, Claire settled with a coffee.

She was glad that she had this early hours to think about the recent changes in her life. First there was of course Beca and second her daughter's hesitation in having a stranger in the house. Claire moved quietly into the kitchen and started the coffee machine. While she waited for it to finish, she sat down at the kitchen table and looked out of the window to watch the morning sun rise over the horizon.

She's been very close to her daughter for all of the young girls life and she is a little saddened that Chloe hadn't told her about what happened at that party with Justin. She knows now that nothing serious happened, but if in the future something does happen, she is worried that Chloe won't come to her with it. She gets that Chloe is a teenager and that kids don't tell their parents everything that is going on, but Claire always thought that she made it clear that Chloe could come to her with everything. Sometimes she thinks that teenagers these days have forgotten that their parents were young once too.

She was interrupted by the sounds of the coffee machine and got up to prepare herself a cup of coffee. Claire sipped it carefully as she moved over to the window and looked outside.

 _I guess I have to talk to Chloe again_ , she thought.

Beca. She didn't really know what to think about the girl. She seemed polite enough during dinner last night, even if she was pretty quiet. But Claire was worried. Marie said that Beca had it rough in her previous homes and that she was hurt. Claire didn't know how much she was hurt but she could imagine by the way the petite girl became stiff as a board when Andrew hugged her. As soon as she noticed the discomfort of the young girl she motioned for Andrew to let her go. Thankfully he saw his wife's movement and quickly let Beca go. The blonde woman didn't want to presume anything but she decided to be careful around the brunette girl and have a small talk with Andrew.

She really hoped that they could help Beca.

Maybe she would have a talk about Beca with her daughter as well. Her daughter's blatant staring last night didn't go unnoticed by Claire. She knew that look, had seen it more times than she could count on her husband's face. She couldn't remember having seen her daughter look like that at her boyfriend Tom. That's another reason why she didn't worry too much about him. He was a nice guy, but he wasn't right for her daughter. She just hoped Chloe would find that out soon.

When her cup of coffee was empty, Claire put it down next to the coffee machine and made her way back to the corridor. She was about to head to the bathroom to take her shower when she noticed a bag at the front door. Wondering what it was doing there she went closer to investigate. She crouched down next to it and saw that it was open. Claire didn't peek because she recognized the bag. It was one of the two bags Beca had brought with her.

The blonde woman frowned.

Why is it just lying by the front door?

She opened the front door and looked from left to right. As soon as Claire saw Beca's frame in the corner of the porch she quickly ran over to her and crouched down next to her.

Not wanting to touch the brunette girl, because she didn't know how she'd react, but worried none the less, she gave her a closer look.

Beca was curled into a small ball, her arms around her knees, which were pressed into her chest. Her head lay on her knees and she seemed to be asleep by the looks of it. Her breath was going a little fast and sweat running down her face. It looked like a nightmare to Claire.

The blonde moved a little closer to Beca but didn't touch her. If she was having a nightmare, she wanted to wake her up from it.

“Beca? Can you wake up?”

 

_A 12 year old Beca rushed through the front door of her home at around 5 pm. She was running late and hoped that Steven wasn't home yet, or at least hasn't noticed that she was late._

_She had been living with the West's for the last one and a half years. Beca didn't know what she expected from them, but this wasn't it. Steven and Claudia West were nice at first and Beca thought she could live with them, but as soon as her social worker Richard Flemming reduced his visits, they showed their real faces._

_It just started with a little cleaning here and there and the occasional cooking. Beca didn't mind that, she had done that to help her grandma in the past too. But sadly it didn't stay that way. One night when she wasn't fast enough, Steven caught her and put his burning cigarette onto her left arm. She couldn't really believe what he had done and quickly ran to her room. She let cold water run over the burn and wondered what she had done wrong. Thinking that that was a one time occurrence, she didn't think anything of it and just continued her life._

_A few weeks later it happened again though and Beca hoped it wouldn't turn into a habit. Sadly it did. By the time she had turned 13 she had to run the household herself and if things weren't done fast enough, she would be pushed around and sometimes slapped. At that age, Beca still wanted approval from the parental figures in her life and thought if she just got faster at cleaning and better at cooking, they would treat her better._

_She tried really hard until one day Steven was drunk and she wasn't going down the stairs fast enough. So he pushed her. She broke her ankle that day. Beca still went to school, but she was worried about meeting Jesse. He had asked her why she was wearing long sleeves in the summer and got suspicious when she gave him a crap excuse. So on that day Jesse saw her stumbling around and quickly caught up to her. He pulled her into a quiet corner and Beca couldn't help but tell him what happened when he stared at her with those imploring puppy eyes of his._

_He was angry. Beca hadn't seen him that angry in all the time she had known him, even if things didn't work in one of his own homes. He begged Beca to tell her social worker or the police but the brunette refused. She still sought after the approval of Claudia and Steven and thought if she would just meet their expectations, they would maybe warm up to her and treat her better. Also this was already her second home and she knew that the chances of getting another one was rather slim. She'd rather stay with the West's than go back to one of the group homes and stay there for who knows how long._

_So Beca made Jesse promise to tell no one. He reluctantly did but only on the condition, that she come to him if she was ever hit again. She quickly agreed and they continued their school day as if nothing happened._

_That had been three months ago and Beca was happy that Jesse had kept his word so far. He made her show him her bruises every time he suspected there were new ones, but all in all it wasn't bad._

_But today, Beca was running late because one of her teachers held her back to talk about her bad grades. Beca wasn't stupid, she was quite intelligent and if people took the time to look they would see that. But she hadn't had the time to study these last few months. As soon as she got home she had chores to do, that regularly lasted until late in the night. She wasn't sleeping as much as she should and it showed in her regular naps during class. So her biology teacher held her back to talk about it. Beca tried to get rid of him quickly but he didn't let her. They talked about tutoring and staying longer after class if she had questions. It was a really nice gesture, but Beca knew that if she wasn't home soon, her foster parents wouldn't be happy. Well, more Steven wouldn't be happy. Claudia just ignored her and was happy that she didn't have to deal with the house chores._

_So when Beca stumbled through the front door at 5 pm, she quickly put her bag down by the stairs and went into the kitchen. If Steven didn't get his food on time he would be unbearable._

_She had just started heating some water for noodles when Steven came into the kitchen. He was holding a bear bottle and was squinting a little in the direction of the clock that hang on the wall over the fridge._

_Uh oh, Beca thought when she caught a whiff of his breath. He was clearly drunk. It was always worse when he was drunk. Beca prayed that Claudia would come home soon. She didn't protect Beca but she could calm him down most of the time so Beca had time to escape to her room._

_“What time is it?” he barked at Beca._

_After a quick glance at the clock Beca replied. “Umm, 5 pm.”_

_“That's right. You should have been home one and a half hours ago. Where the hell did you go off to?”_

_“A teacher asked me to stay behind. He wanted to talk to me and it took a little longer than expected.”_

_He came over to Beca and stood next to her. He slammed his fist into the fridge door and Beca jumped. “I don't care if the president wants to talk to you. You'll be home at 3.30 pm sharp. No excuses.”_

_“But...”_

_“I said 3.30! I gave you a roof over your ungrateful little head and food and what do you do? Cause me trouble every time I see you. I don't know why we even put up with your insolent behavior.”_

_“Probably because of the monthly checks from the state.” Beca mumbled under her breath but didn't expect Steven to hear her._

_He grabbed his beer bottle harder and slammed it into the wall next to Beca's head. It broke into a thousand tiny pieces and Beca let out a short surprised scream. Steven still held the neck of the bottle in his hands and was breathing heavily into her face. The bottle had some pretty sharp edges now._

_“What was that?! I don't think I heard you right! Apologize, now! You can be lucky that we were so kind to take you with us. Nobody else wanted you, so be grateful you little bitch and apologize!”_

_Beca had enough. She had let him talk down to her for the last one and a half years and she couldn't take it anymore._

_She glared at him with fire in her eyes and spat in his face. “You won't get an apology you stinking drunk! All you've ever done to me is hurt and exploit me! I've had enough! Don't expect to see me again!” She shouted in his face and turned around to walk up to her room. She wanted to grab some stuff quickly and be out of there as fast as she could._

_She didn't see the murderous look in Steven's eyes because she was already halfway turned around to get out of the kitchen when a sharp pain in her left side stopped her. She looked down to where the pain was and found the neck of the bottle embedded deep into her abdomen._

_What the hell?! He stabbed me! Beca thought when she slid down the wall behind her. She grabbed the bottle and pulled it out quickly. But that only made the wound bleed more heavily. The last thing she saw before passing out were the panicked eyes of Steven who ran to the house phone that hang on the wall next to the fridge. After that everything went black._

 

“Beca? Can you wake up?”

As soon as Claire had uttered Beca's name, the girl jumped violently, one arm jumped in front of her face and the other to her left side. She was breathing heavily and her eyes looked around wildly.

“Calm down, sweetie. Everything is okay.” Against her better judgment Claire reached out and wanted to put a hand on the girls shoulder to comfort her. Before it could come even near her, Beca was standing and had her back to the wall. Claire quickly stepped a few steps back to let the small girl have some room.

“Are you alright, Beca?”

Beca was still breathing a little erratically but nodded in Claire's direction.

“Good. Do you want to come in and have some coffee? I just made some.” Claire asked kindly, not really believing that Beca was fine, but not wanting to upset her any more than she already was.

Beca nodded again and followed the blonde woman into the house. In the kitchen, she sat down at the kitchen table as Claire brought her a cup of coffee and poured another one for herself. Claire sat down next to the brunette and watched as Beca slowly sipped at the warm beverage. She had the cup in both of her hands, probably warming them up from the cold outside.

“So, do you want to tell me what you were doing outside?” Claire asked carefully.

Beca was silent for a minute. Claire could practically see the tiny girl thinking up some excuse.

“Don't bother with that. If you're not telling me the truth then don't say anything. I hate being lied to so please refrain from doing so if you can. If you don't want to talk about something just stay silent or say you don't want to talk, but don't disrespect me by lying. I am not letting Chloe lie to me and it will be the same for you.”

Beca looked at her wide eyed. She couldn't follow that rule even if she wanted to. Over half her life was practically a whole lie in itself. There was no way she could stay here and not lie.

Beca continued staring at Claire with big eyes and the older woman sighed deeply.

“Okay, silence I can work with. So let me guess. You locked yourself out?”

Now Beca was surprised. How did she know that?!

A small nod from the brunette confirmed Claire's suspicion. She had seen Beca's bag in front of the door and it lay suspiciously close to the edge. The door must have slammed shut somehow.

“But why didn't you just ring the bell? We would have opened up for you. And Chloe must have still been awake, she always stays up late.”

Beca shrugged, not wanting to get into that story right now.

Claire sighed. “Okay, it's fine if you don't want to talk. But if you need anything, please let one us know okay? I'll go to the mall next week and get you a key. So you don't have to sleep on the porch again. Now, do you want to help me with breakfast?”

Glad that Claire had let the questioning go, Beca offered to do breakfast herself. “I can do it.”

Claire laughed. “No, no, I've got it. But you can help me if you want.”

Not really comfortable with that but agreeing anyway, Beca stood next to Claire for the next twenty minutes and prepared breakfast.

“Chloe and Andrew should be up any minute now, it's nearly nine.”

Beca nodded but secretly dreaded seeing the red headed girl again. They left things a little awkward last night and Beca was sure Chloe will still be angry with her.

Beca tried formulating an apology, but before she could get anything other than 'I'm sorry for the way I acted last night', Mr Beale and Chloe came into the kitchen.

Chloe was scowling as she saw Beca and didn't say good morning to anyone. She just sat down on her seat at the table. Beca noticed that Chloe was looking beautiful again in simple jeans and a green shirt. Her hair was open today and cascaded down her back in beautiful waves. The light from the sun shone directly on the gingers hair and made it sparkle.

Claire watched the girls confused but shrugged it off. Teenagers.

She greeted her husband with a short kiss and put the food on the table. She went to her daughter and gave her a hug. “Good morning to you too, sweetie.”

Chloe spared a short smile for her mom but went right back to scowling as she saw Beca was looking at them. “Good morning.”

“What's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep well?”

“I slept just fine.”

Not knowing where the hostile behavior came from, Claire just shrugged it off as hormones or something and started a conversation with Andrew while everyone helped themselves to some breakfast.

Her conversation was interrupted by a small sneeze from the brunette girl.

Claire immediately looked at Beca with worried eyes. “Oh Beca, I hope you didn't catch a cold last night on the porch. Do you want a tea? I can make you one.”

Andrew chose that time to interrupt. “The porch? What was she doing on the porch?”

“I don't know. I found her there asleep this morning. She said she locked herself out.”

Andrew turned to look at Beca. “Why didn't you just ring the bell?”

Beca was feeling uncomfortable with all the attention and shrugged again.

Andrew was about to ask again but his wife's hand on his arm stopped him form doing so.

Beca continued eating and wasn't surprised by the tea that was sat in front of her a few minutes later. The person who gave it to her however, was surprising. Chloe looked at Beca with apologetic and guilty eyes but didn't say anything.

They continued their meal and when they finished Claire decided to talk again.

“So Beca,” Beca turned her eyes from her plate to Claire's for a moment but quickly looked down again. “School starts tomorrow. Are you excited?”

“Not really.” Beca mumbled and played with her napkin a little.

“Well, Chloe can show you around, right sweetie?” She looked at her daughter pointedly.

Chloe sunk into her seat but nodded quietly.

“We've already arranged everything with the school. You'll just have to be a little early tomorrow and pick up your schedule from the secretary's office. We've thought that you would like the same classes from your old school so we asked Marie and she told us what you were taking. Is that okay?”

Beca nodded.

“Alright. Well, I'll do the dishes and after that I'm off to visit grandma.”

“Do you need help?” Beca asked, not being able to help herself. She had done the chores for so long, she didn't even know what free time looked like. And she kind of liked these mind numbing activities.

Andrew laughed. “Look at that! So polite, I like it. Chloe, why don't you ever ask if you can help around the house? I think it would do you some good.”

The apologetic look from earlier was washed away quickly by a look of anger on the gingers face. Beca didn't know why she deserved that look but shrugged it off. The feelings of the red head weren't her problem.

When Claire assured her that her help wasn't needed, Beca quickly went upstairs to maybe catch a few more hours of sleep. She was pretty tired and she knew that she could use all the energy she could get for school tomorrow. First days always sucked.

A/N: So I had some time on my hands today so I wanted to write something. I'm not really happy with it at the moment, but you'll get it anyway... I hope you enjoyed it :) Next time a little more interaction between our favorite ladies. I think they need to have a talk before school starts. And thanks again for all the support, I'm loving it. Writing is much more fun if people are there who are reading and enjoying it as much as I like writing it.


	5. Chapter 5

Short A/N: For everyone who gets easily confused (like me ;D) in the following phone call, Chloe is typed in normal font, Aubrey in _Italic_ and Stacie in **Bold**...

**Chapter 5**

As soon as her mom left to visit with her grandma Chloe stomped off into her room and plopped down onto her bed.

She grabbed her phone and started dialing a number.

_“Aubrey Posen speaking.”_

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You know it's me, why are you always answering your phone like that?”

_“Excuse me, but who am I talking to?”_

“Funny, Bree. You have to help me.”

Aubrey chuckled for a moment. _“What's up Chloe? How is your new house guest?”_

Chloe sighed deeply. “I don't know what to make of her. Her name's Beca and she is like really tiny. Long shiny brunette hair and striking blue eyes. But I don't think you would like her fashion style Bree, she is kind of rocking the alternative look.”

_“Still waiting for the problem here, Chlo.”_

“Well, when she came in with her social worker last night, she was quiet but not unfriendly. I noticed she didn't eat much but I think she was just nervous, with new people and all that. So after dinner I showed her the house a little and everything was going well...”

_“Wait a second, if you're not complaining we have to get Stacie in on this. Then she can do the encouraging and I can study a little on the side when you two are talking.”_

“Bree! This is serious!”

_“Yeah yeah, wait a second...”_

**“Hello? Aubrey? Why are you calling me so early? It's Sunday!”**

_“Yeah, Chloe wanted to talk. She's on the line as well. So talk.”_

“Hey Stace. Good morning, I'm sorry that Bree woke you up.”

**“It's fine. I guess I should get up anyway. I'm meeting Donald for lunch.”**

“When are you going to admit that you two are dating? All these lunch dates and the talking in school, man up and ask him out.”

**“No, he has to ask me out. I'm waiting until he does, right Bree?”**

_“Right. The man always needs to be the person who asks the question first.”_

“But you are already waiting so long! What is taking him so long?”

**“Don't know. But he'll get it, sooner or later...”**

“But what if it's two girls or two guys? Who needs to ask the question first?”

_“The butch one.”_

“There isn't always a butch one in a same sex relationship, Bree. Prejudice much?”

_“No. I'm just saying.”_

“So what if Stacie and I were to start dating, who would ask the other one out first?”

_“What kind of question is that?”_

**“Umm, do you want to tell me something Chloe?”**

“No Stacie, I'm just asking hypothetically. So who would be the one, Bree?”

_“Hm, well Stace is more girly, but also more direct. I think Stacie would ask you out first, but only because you take years to make up your mind.”_

“Hey!”

**“Yeah, hey! Why do I have to be the one to make the first move? I'd like to think that Chloe couldn't resist me for long and would ask me out first.”**

_“But Stacie, you are so impatient. I have no idea how you managed all these months with Donald. You must really like him.”_

**“Well, I do. But still, Chloe would ask me out first!”**

“Ok, fine, I'll ask you out first okay?”

**“No, not okay! You don't want to ask me out for real, right? Because I'm sorry to say this, but I'm 100 % straight.”**

“No one is a 100 % straight. But I get it. You don't love me, I'll go to Aubrey then... Maybe she'll appreciate me a little more than you.”

_“Excuse me? Chloe, I love you, but really. Weren't we talking about something else? Can we maybe get back to that?”_

“You're no fun. Fine, so Stacie, we were talking about Beca. Who is living with us since yesterday. And I need some help.”

_“Don't forget to tell her about the girls shiny brunette hair and her striking blue eyes...”_

“Bree! Don't make fun of me okay? I'm trying to tell you guys what happened!”

_“Yeah yeah... go on, we're listening.”_

**“Striking blue eyes, huh? So that question from earlier wasn't as hypothetical as you wanted us to believe...”**

“I'm ignoring you guys. Anyway after I showed her the rooms, she went to bed. I stayed up a little longer but was tired and went to bed as well. I woke up half past three again and heard someone crying. I went outside to check what was going on and noticed that the crying came from Beca's room. I didn't want to overstep any boundaries and decided not to check on her. I went back to my room and continued listening.”

**“Creep.”**

“No! I couldn't just go in her room, I don't know her and she doesn't know me, but I was worried. So I listened for a little while and heard her get up about ten minutes later. She sneaked out of her room and when she didn't come back for twenty minutes I decided to go and look for her.”

_“Uh oh, this can't be good.”_

“Shut it, Bree. Anyway I found her sitting on the porch and she was smoking. You know how much I hate it when people are smoking, so I asked her if she knew that it was bad for her health and she just ignored me. That pissed me off, so I just grabbed the cigarette out of her hand and stepped on it.”

**“Bet that got a reaction out of her.”**

“Unfortunately yes. She got angry and tried to get it back but I was faster. Anyway I wanted her to give me the rest of the pack, she obviously didn't want that and asked me why I was destroying her things...”

**“Valid question.”**

“Well I told her that I hate it when people are smoking and that she shouldn't do it in the house. She said something about being out on the porch and not in the house. I got angry at her snarky remarks and she asked what I was even doing outside. So I told her that I heard her crying and wanted to check if she was alright. She said that she was fine and that I should just go back to sleep, but I didn't believe her and insisted until she shouted at me and I stormed off.”

**“Well, I don't get where she went wrong. I mean, she shouldn't have shouted but otherwise I don't think she did anything wrong... It was just an argument, apologize and everything will work itself out.”**

“Why do I have to apologize? I was just concerned for her!”

**“Yeah, but you kinda didn't show that in the best way...”**

“Bree?”

_“Umm, Chlo, I think Stacie is right this time. You are right, she doesn't know you and you crowded her and wanted to take her cigarettes. I hate smoking as well, but have you thought about why she was smoking? You said she was having a nightmare or something, maybe she just smoked to calm down? I know a lot of people who smoke in stressful situations.”_

“I guess you're right. I should apologize. But that wasn't everything...”

**“Oh? Spill!”**

“When I came down for breakfast this morning, my mom said that she found Beca sleeping on the porch this morning. I noticed yesterday evening that she put her bag between the door so it wouldn't slam shut, but I guess I must have kicked it away or something when I went inside again. I was angry so I didn't notice. But now that I'm thinking about it I think I heard the door slam shut when I was halfway up the stairs...”

**“You locked her out?!”**

“Not on purpose! I was feeling so guilty and then she sneezed.”

**“You made her catch a cold?!”**

“No! Well I hope not. But I made her some tea and then wanted to apologize but then dad said that I should be more like Beca and help around the house more. That set me off again and now I'm up here in my room and complaining to you two.”

_“Chloe...”_

“Yeah I know Bree. Now that I'm thinking about it, the only thing Beca did wrong was shout at me and I provoked her. So I guess I should go and apologize to her?”

_“You should.”_

**“You totally should. And you should introduce us tomorrow, she's coming to school, right?”**

“She will. And yes, I'll introduce you. But I don't think she would appreciate me barging into her room right now, I think she went back to sleep.”

**“I would do that too. Sleeping on the porch couldn't have been comfortable.”**

Chloe sighed. “Well, what shall I do then until she wakes up? I don't really have anything planned.”

_“Homework.”_

**“Don't you have a boyfriend? Meet up with him.”**

“I don't want to do my homework... I don't have much anyway.”

_“Then do it now and you're finished.”_

“Maybe...”

**“How is Tom doing anyway? I don't think I saw you two together much in these last few weeks.”**

“I don't know. I haven't really talked to him.”

**“Why? Do you guys are having troubles?”**

“No, I don't think so. But I'm not sure if I'm into him like that anymore. I really liked him at first and he is the captain of the football team, but now that we've been together for a few months I'm not sure anymore.”

_“Why haven't you told us about this earlier? If you're not happy, then find someone else. Don't let anybody hold you back.”_

“But the whole school thinks we're the perfect couple and I don't really want to deal with all the break up rumors when we do break up.”

**“That's no reason to stay with him. Do you love him?”**

“...No. I like him, but I don't love him.”

**“Well then, there's your answer. Don't settle for like. Fight for love.”**

_“Where did you get that Stace? Your moms motto calender or something?”_

“Don't be mean, Bree. I guess you're right Stace. But how am I going to tell him that? I think he really likes me and I feel bad for disappointing him.”

**“We'll think of something, don't worry. I'm sorry but I have to cut this conversation short. I still have to shower and Donald is coming to get me at 12 pm. Let's talk about this tomorrow, alright? And don't forget to apologize to Beca!”**

“I won't. Have fun Stacie. Love you!”

**“I will. Love you guys too!”**

_“Have fun Stace. Remember to tell us all the dirty details tomorrow. Love you!”_

**“Bye!”**

“That leaves us.”

_“We could both do our homework.”_

“Noo, please Bree, talk to me a little more?”

_“Fine. Has Beca shown any signs of stealing yet?”_

“Bree!”

_“I'm just asking. You know what happened to my neighbor.”_

“Yes, but Beca isn't like that. Please don't judge her before you meet her.”

_“Fine. But be careful.”_

“Yes yes, I will be.”

The girls continued talking for the next hour about everything and nothing.

Shortly after noon Claire came back and asked Chloe to come downstairs and help her with lunch. She planned some steak with a side salad and she asked Chloe to help her chop the ingredients for the salad.

Andrew was in the living room and was watching the game from last night. As soon as Chloe was finished chopping the vegetables, she went over to her dad and sat down next to him.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Chloe-bear?”

“Did you mean what you said yesterday? That I should help more around the house?”

Andrew chuckled and pulled Chloe into a hug.

“I was joking. You are helping when we ask you too and since your mother is working from home there really isn't much you have to do. I was just surprised by Beca's helpfulness and decided to joke around. I'm sorry if you thought I wanted you to change.”

“It's okay. I was just wondering.”

Andrew kissed the crown of his daughter's head and they continued watching the game for the next ten minutes.

When the food was ready, Claire came into the living room and asked Chloe to get Beca.

“I think she's still sleeping mom.”

“That girl didn't really eat anything last night or this morning. She is already so skinny, she needs a good meal. Can you wake her up?”

“Sure.”

Chloe stood up from the couch and made her way up to Beca's room.

She knocked softly on the door. When she didn't get an answer she knocked louder and said Beca's name. No answer again. Chloe slowly opened the door and put her head through the opening.

“Beca? Are you awake?”

No answer again.

Chloe sighed and moved completely into the room. She stopped next to the bed. She noticed that the girl lay on the covers and hadn't bothered to change out of her clothes from yesterday. The red head put her hand on Beca's shoulder and shook her gently.

“Beca?”

The brunette's eyes opened suddenly and she flinched away violently. Chloe took a few steps back and tried to calm Beca down.

“Calm down, Beca. I just wanted to tell you that lunch was ready. And you weren't responding when I knocked and said your name. So I came in to wake you. Are you okay?”

Beca was still breathing heavily but nodded at Chloe.

“Yeah, I'm fine. You just surprised me. Thanks for waking me up, I'll be down in a minute.”

Chloe nodded and quickly went downstairs again. She had noticed yesterday that Beca didn't seem to like being touched very much but the flinching seemed a little extreme for a mere dislike of physical contact. Did she have some kind of bad experience? The red head wondered as she came back into the kitchen and sat down on her chair.

“Where's Beca?” Claire inquired.

“She'll be down in a minute. She was still sleeping when I knocked.”

“Oh okay. Well then, let's wait for her.”

Two minutes later Beca came down the stairs and sat down next to Chloe at the table.

“Did you sleep well Beca?” Claire asked as she put the food on the plates.

“Hmm, yes. Thanks for asking.” Beca accepted her plate and started eating slowly.

The rest of the meal was spent with small talk. Claire talked about her earlier visit to her mother and Andrew talked a little about work.

When they were finished eating, Beca once again offered to do the dishes, but Claire said she didn't have to. Beca decided to spent the rest of the day in her room and started walking up the stairs. Before she arrived at the top, Chloe called her name and stopped her.

“Beca? Can we maybe talk for a moment? I think I should apologize about yesterday.”

Beca frowned at Chloe. Why would she apologize?

Chloe began shuffling around a little when Beca was only looking at her for a minute.

The brunette finally seemed to remember that Chloe had asked her a question.

“Um, sure. Come in then.” Beca said as she continued her walk to her room.

Chloe followed and sat down on a chair near the desk. Beca plopped down on the bed and crossed her legs.

When Chloe didn't start speaking, Beca got nervous.

“So...”

“Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn't notice that I locked you out. And I shouldn't have taken your cigarette and I'm sorry for overstepping my boundaries. I was just worried about you.”

“It's okay. It wasn't your intention to lock me out. And if you don't touch my cigarettes anymore we'll be fine. And I'm sorry too for shouting at you. You caught me in a bad moment.”

“Nightmare?”

Beca was surprised by the directness of Chloe. She was about to deny such a claim but remembered that Chloe told her that she had heard her last night.

The brunette just nodded.

“I'm sorry. If I hear you next time, I'll wake you up?”

Beca's eyes grew wide. “No!”

Chloe was taken aback by Beca's strong reaction.

“I mean, it's nothing. It was probably just a bad dream, won't happen again, so don't worry about me, I'll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then. How about we start again? We kinda got to know each other on the wrong foot. My name is Chloe Beale, I'm 16, I like singing and my friends and it's nice to meet you.” She stretched her hand out for Beca to shake.

Beca hesitated but then thought, why not and took Chloe's outstretched hand.

“Hey, so my name is Beca Mitchell, I'm also 16 and I like my friend Jesse and music I guess. Nice to meet you too.”

Chloe beamed at her. “You like music? Do you play an instrument?”

Beca nodded. “Yeah, I love music. And yes, I play the piano a little bit.”

“That's so cool. So did you get lessons, or did someone teach you at home?”

Beca was getting uncomfortable now and fidgeted on her bed. “Um, I taught myself a little. Nothing major.”

“Cool, I played the guitar for a little while but I gave up on it earlier this year. Now I just like to sing. I'm in an a capella group in school. You should totally join.”

“Um, no thank you. I'm not big into clubs and stuff like that. But why did you give up playing the guitar. Didn't you like it anymore?”

“It's not that. I love playing the guitar but when I got together with my boyfriend, he said that I wasn't giving him enough attention and that I should stop one of my after school activities. It was a capella or the guitar so I stopped playing.”

“What a douche. Why should you stop playing if you love it so much? I don't get it.”

“Yeah, no it was fine. I like Tom, and if he wants to spent more time with me then I can make small sacrifices.”

“I wouldn't call this small.”

Chloe knew that Beca had a point but she didn't want to discuss her relationship with Tom with her.

“So, I promised to show you the rest of the house. You up for it? There is only the basement and the garden left, so it shouldn't take too long.”

Beca shrugged. “Fine with me.”

Chloe got up from the chair and went downstairs. Beca followed silently.

The red head opened the glass door in the living room and stepped outside.

“So this is our garden. It's nothing much but it's secluded enough so you can do a little sun bathing in the summer and big enough for some barbecues with friends.”

Beca looked around and saw a decent sized garden with some garden furniture on the right side, a garden shed on the left and a small swing set in the corner.

“Was that your swing?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, I used to swing on it nearly everyday, I just loved the feeling it gave me when I got higher and higher. I used to jump of and feel like I was flying. Best feeling ever.”

“Are you still using it?”

Chloe shrugged. “No, I think I outgrew it. But now that you reminded me, maybe I'll use it again. That free feeling you get when you are in the air was awesome. I could use a little freedom. Wanna swing with me?”

“Um, maybe later... You wanted to show me the basement?”

“Yeah, let's go.”

Chloe went back inside and walked back to the stairs. There was a door right under the stairs that Chloe opened.

“Come on, it's not really interesting but after this you'll have seen everything in this house.”

“Lead the way.” Beca murmured and followed the red head.

Chloe pressed on a light switch and the stairs lit up. They went downstairs and Beca could see 4 doors from where she was standing.

“So, first door on the left is the room with the washing machine and dryer and stuff.” She opened the door and Beca saw a laundry rack, the washing machine and a dryer.

“Next room we have our supplies. Cans and stuff that won't expire so fast and drinks and everything food related.” Beca took a quick look into the room but only saw some cupboards.

“Yeah not really interesting. Anyway, next room is our storage room. It's pretty full, I'm not sure we can open the door. Usually, when I need something from in there something conveniently fell out of the cupboards and blocks the door.” She tried the door anyway and when it was halfway open, the door suddenly stopped. Chloe sighed. “What did I tell you? Anyway, next room.”

Beca only caught a quick glance of some chairs in the corner.

Chloe went over to the last room and opened it. She walked in it and remained standing in the middle of the room. “So, last room. This used to be Nathan's room. Well not his bed room but he came down here to make some music and hang out with his friends.” Chloe motioned to a couch and some chairs, a small TV in the corner and a desk at the side of the room.

Beca couldn't believe her eyes.

“Is that DJ equipment?” Beca asked breathlessly.

Chloe turned around and looked at the desk in the corner.

“Yep. Nathan used to make mixes before he enrolled in the army last year. He left all his stuff here for when he comes home.”

Beca slowly makes her way over to the desk and looked at the stuff. There was a laptop, a pair of headphones, a mixing board with two small turn tables and a traktor control.

“Woah, this looks so professional.”

Chloe giggled. “I don't know about that. He did some nice mixes but he wasn't into it that much. He had fun dabbling in music. Are you interested in mixing?”

Beca only nodded.

“Have you tried it before?”

Beca shook her head. “Never had the opportunity before.”

“Well, Nathan showed me some things before he left. Want me to show you how it works?”

Beca turned around and looked at Chloe with wide eyes. “Really? You would do that?”

Chloe giggled again. “Sure, why not? I don't have anything better to do anyway, I would be happy to show you.”

When Chloe looked at Beca she was met with the first real smile she had seen from the tiny brunette so far. It was stretched all over her face and her eyes were sparkling with gratitude. Her pearly white teeth were showing and Chloe was mesmerized by the beauty of the other girl. _Damn, I didn't expect that..._

They spent the rest of the day in the basement. Chloe showed Beca everything her brother had shown her and they were having fun mashing some old songs that were on Nathan's laptop together. They were only interrupted once by Claire inquiring where they had disappeared to.

They had to stop when Andrew got them for dinner and they decided to stop for the day. Tomorrow would be Beca's first day of school so she decided to go to bed early.

Both girls fell asleep with a smile on their faces. Beca's last thought was, that maybe this time, it would work out. She really hoped so.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Beca and Chloe grabbed a quick breakfast to eat on their way to school. They were late because Chloe had overslept and Beca didn't know the way so she had to wait for Chloe. Not that she would have left without the red head even if she hadn't overslept. She had thought about the Beale's last night and had decided to give the system of foster families one last chance. 

And Chloe seemed nice. After they had both apologized for their little disagreement the other night, they had a lot of fun playing with Nathan's mixing stuff. Beca didn't trust the Beale's and would continue to be cautious and withdrawn but she allowed a little hope for a better future to slip through some tiny cracks in her armor. She'd just have to wait and see what the next few weeks would bring.

Anyway, they arrived at school at 8:25 in the morning. The first classes started at 8:30 am and Beca still had to rush to the office to pick up her schedule and some other papers.

Chloe offered to show Beca where the office was but Beca had already seen Jesse waiting for her at the entrance of the school. She quickly thanked Chloe for her offer but told her, that Jesse had already promised to show her around and that they would probably see each other later. 

Beca rushed over to Jesse who grinned widely at her.

“Hey Becs, cutting it a little close on your first day, huh?”

The brunette girl scowled at him. “Good Morning to you too weirdo. So, care to show me where the office is? I'm already late as it is.”

Jesse grinned and started walking into the building. Beca followed after him, trying to avoid running into the countless students that were hurrying to their classes.

“And may I ask why you are late? Already trying to skip class?”

Beca shot him a glare. “You know that I didn't skip on purpose. Now show me where the office is. Being the new girl is exhausting enough, I don't want to be the new girl that was late to her first class. So get moving.”

“Yeah, yeah calm down, we're almost there.” Jesse said and a few seconds later they arrived at a door that had office painted on it. “Here it is. I'll wait for you, okay? So I can show you to your first class.”

Beca was grateful for his offer but didn't want to make him late for his own classes. “That's nice of you to offer, but I'll be fine. Go, you'll be late if you don't hurry.”

Jesse grinned, shrugged and leaned against the wall next to the office door. “I'll wait. Go on in already.”

The brunette girl shot him a thankful look and went into the office.

An older woman with graying hair and big red rimmed glasses sat behind a large desk and typed on her computer keyboard.

Beca took a few steps into the room until she stood right before the desk and cleared her throat.

“Um, good morning. I'm Beca Mitchell and I'm new at this school. I was told that you had my schedule and some other papers for me.”

The woman stopped typing and looked up at Beca with a small smile. 

“Good morning, dear. My name's Amanda Clarke. Since it's already pretty late, we'll keep this short. So, here's your schedule and a paper that every teacher has to sign today, alright? After school you'll come back again and we'll deal with the rest of the paper work. Does that sound alright to you?”

Beca was a little overwhelmed but took the offered papers anyway and nodded at Mrs Clarke. She told her a quick thank you and was out of the office again in under three minutes.

“That was fast Becs. So, what classes do you have?” Jesse asked as she came out of the office.

Beca looked down at the papers Mrs Clarke had given her and read over them.

1st period: Pre-Calculus (08:30 – 09:55)  
2nd period: English literature (10:00 – 11:25)  
lunch (11:25 – 12:30)  
3rd period: U.S. History (12:30 – 13:55)  
4th period: Physical Education (14:00 – 15:30)

“Oh man, we only have English lit together. That sucks. Come on, we are already late, I'll show you where your first class is. I'll come and pick you up when your class is over, alright?”

Beca nodded. “Thanks Jesse.”

They hurried through the corridors and made it to Beca's class at exactly 8:30 am. Jesse just pointed at her door and began running in another direction. “See you later! Good luck!” He shouted before he turned around a corner.

Beca stood in front of the door for a few seconds and took a deep breath. Okay, let's do this.

She turned the door knob and saw that the teacher, an older man with short white hair and a thick mustache, was just greeting the class. When he heard the door open, he turned around and saw Beca standing there looking nervously from left to right.

“Ah, the new student. You must be Miss Mitchell. Any particular reason why you were late for my class?”

Beca looked at him with wide eyes. “Umm.... yes... you see... umm...”

“It was my fault. I'm sorry, Mr Bailey. I overslept and since she doesn't know the way to school she had to wait for me. And then she had to get her schedule from the office.” 

Beca was surprised to see that Chloe was taking the blame for her late arrival. She didn't expect that. Normally nobody really cared what she did or if she got in trouble for it. The brunette girl couldn't quite figure out why Chloe would defend her when they haven't even known each other three days. 

“Chloe? So Miss Mitchell is living with you?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, Beca came to live with us a few days ago. I wanted to show her around before school started but then I overslept. It really was my fault so please don't blame her.”

Mr Bailey looked from the pleading look in Chloe's eyes to the nervous expression on Beca's face.

“Okay then. I'll let it go this once, but don't let this become a habit Beca. Why don't you introduce yourself to the class briefly and then sit down next to Stacie? I'll quickly sign your paper for the office.”

Beca was surprised that the teacher had let it go this easily but didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. She stepped up next to the teacher's desk and looked at the students. She noticed that Chloe was sitting next to a blonde who was looking at her sceptically and behind those two was a girl with long brown hair that was waving at her and pointing to an empty chair next to her.

That must be Stacie then. 

Beca cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “Well, my name is Beca Mitchell, I'm new at this school and it's nice to meet all of you I guess.”

She grabbed the signed paper from Mr Bailey and was about to quickly walk over to the brunette girl to sit down but was interrupted by a question that was shouted by a nice looking guy in the back.

“Wait, did you just move here? Did you live anywhere interesting before?”

Beca stopped halfway through and looked at the boy. “No, sorry. I was going to another school in Atlanta, so nothing interesting.”

“Man, that sucks. Did they expel you or something? Why would you change schools in the middle of the school year when you were living in Atlanta anyway?”

Beca didn't know how to answer that. She hadn't been expelled but she had no desire to broadcast her living situation to the whole class. She was thinking hard about an appropriate reply when Chloe came to her rescue. Again. 

“Leave her alone Justin. It's none of your business but she wasn't expelled. Do us all a favor and be quiet.” Chloe was glaring at him harshly and Beca wondered if there was something else going on. The red heads reaction seemed a little harsh for a more or less harmless question. 

Beca quickly took her seat and watched Chloe as she was still glaring at the boy.

Luckily Mr Bailey took that opportunity to speak again and Chloe turned back around to watch the teacher. “Thank you Beca. So, let's get back to our lesson. Today we'll be ...”

“Hey! I'm Stacie, it's nice to meet you.” The brunette sitting next to Beca introduced herself and made Beca's attention disappear from the teacher.

Stacie had beautiful slightly wavy long dark hair and light blue eyes. She had a big smile on her face and was looking at Beca expectantly. 

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you too.”

“So, how are you?”

Beca looked at her confused. Why would she want to know?

“Fine?”

Stacie grinned. “Was that a question? Anyway, I’m one of Chloe’s best friends so I know that you are living with her now and I just wanted to ask how you liked it so far. She kinda told us what happened the other night and I wanted to make sure you are okay. You didn’t catch a cold, did you?”

Chloe had talked about that with her friends? Beca wasn’t sure she liked that Chloe was talking about her behind her back. She would have to talk to her about that later. 

“Um, Beca? You okay?” Stacie asked when Beca just stared at the back of Chloe’s head for about a minute. When she heard Stacie, she slowly turned around to look at the other brunette.

“Sorry, yeah, I’m fine. And no, I didn’t catch a cold, it wasn’t that cold anyway.”

“Great, I was really worried.”

Beca really didn’t know what to make of Stacie. “Why? You don’t know me.”

Stacie rolled her eyes. “That’s true but that’s not stopping me from worrying. When someone’s best friend locks someone out so they have to spend the night out in the open anyone would be worried. And since you don’t know Chloe that well yet, I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression of her. She is an awesome friend.”

Now Beca understood. Stacie was worried about Chloe’s reputation and didn’t want her to spread around that Chloe had locked her out. She had gotten worried for a moment there. It had nearly sounded like the other brunette cared about her well being. 

Beca smiled at Stacie. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Now it was Stacie’s turn to be confused. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Stacie, is my class so boring that you have to distract Beca? Please pay attention. And Beca, you have a lot to catch up on, I would suggest you listen to what I say.” Mr Bailey told them when he couldn’t ignore their quiet conversation anymore. 

Stacie and Beca both nodded and concentrated on the rest of the lesson after that. The taller brunette decided to ask what Beca was talking about later though. 

The bell rang at 09:55 am and Beca was glad for that. She had tried to listen to what Mr Bailey was telling them but she felt like she missed one or two chapters to really get what he was saying. She had asked Marie to get her into the same classes she had in her old school so she wouldn’t have to catch up on too much but it seemed that they worked a little faster in this school. Beca resolved herself to ask Jesse for some pointers later on. She wanted to get good grades as long as she could. Who knew when something would happen that would prevent her from studying. 

She quickly grabbed her stuff and put it back in her bag. Stacie was about to talk to her again but Beca had already seen Jesse at the class room door.

“I’m sorry, Jesse’s waiting for me. We’ll talk later, alright? It was nice to meet you Stacie.”

Beca made her way over to Jesse who greeted her with a grin and an attempted hug. Beca, of course, made a big show of walking around him with a glare on her face.

“You are no fun. So, how was your first class? Did you get in trouble for being late?”

Beca shook her head. “No, I didn’t get in trouble. What about you?”

Jesse laughed. “No. My teacher likes me and I was only a few minutes late.”

The brunette girl rolled her eyes. “Nerd.”

Jesse punched Beca’s shoulder lightly in indignation. He didn’t notice her flinching when he made contact.

“Hey! This nerd is showing you around, so be nice to me. Did you meet anyone yet? Maybe even made a friend?” Jesse asked with a hopeful expression on his face. He knew that Beca had a few problems with meeting new people and that she didn’t have many, well any, friends in her old school. He really wanted her to have a better life and a chance at real friendships from now on. Jesse knew about some of her problems but he suspected there was a lot more that she wasn’t telling him. He really hoped that she would some day find someone she could trust unconditionally. He could see her suffering and felt awful that he couldn’t do more for his friend. He tried talking to her and begged her to open up to him but she refused every single time. After many failed attempts he noticed that she was happier when the two of them were joking around, so he made it his mission to make her smile and laugh as often as possible. 

“Jesse? Are you even listening to me?”

Jesse was startled out of his thoughts by his best friends voice. She was looking at him suspiciously. She knew exactly what kind of expression he made when he was thinking about her… situation. She had caught him with that kind of face a lot of times when they were together. And she didn’t like it.

“What? Yeah, of course Becs. Let’s get going, we have to hurry to English literature.”

Beca frowned. “If you don’t want to listen to what I have to say then don’t ask me things.”

“It’s not that and you know that. Don’t be offended.”

“Yeah, yeah weirdo. So do you know Stacie?”

Jesse’s eyes went wide. “Stacie? As in Stacie Conrad? Tall, gorgeous, hot Stacie?”

He made some kind of movement with his hand that looked like an hourglass. When Beca noticed she quickly slapped his hands away. “Stop that! And yes I think so. She didn’t tell me her last name, but she looks nice I guess. So, do you know her?”

Jesse laughed. “Know her? Not really. Know of her? Of course.”

Beca furrowed her brows in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Stacie Conrad is really popular and always hangs out with the football guys. She is gorgeous but hard to approach. I’m just wondering why you would ask about her?”

“Well, she’s sitting next to me in my Pre-Calculus class and she seems nice. She and Chloe are good friends, right?”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah, they are. Together with another girl named Aubrey. She is blonde and beautiful. Now that I’m thinking about it, all of them are pretty hard to approach.”

Beca snorted. “Chloe? No way, she seems pretty friendly and open.”

The brunette boy shrugged. “Well she’s always surrounded by someone or another so it’s hard to get to her alone. They are all popular so the other students want to be their friends.”

“Hm. The popular crowd. Not where I want to be. So I’ll just stay with you loser. Seems safer that way.”

“Hey!” Jesse cried indignantly. 

Beca just smirked at him and went into the classroom they had been standing in front of for the last three minutes. “Come on loser, show me where to sit.”

Jesse huffed but followed her in and showed her a seat next to a blonde girl.

“Hey Amy. This is Beca, she’s my best friend and new here. Be nice to her?” Jesse asked the blonde.

The blonde, Amy, turned around and smiled brightly at Beca. “Hey, I’m Amy. It’s nice to meet you shortstack.”

“Shortstack?” Beca asked, a little confused.

Amy grinned. “Yeah, you are so tiny, it’s a surprise that you can even look over the table.”

Jesse guffawed and punched Beca’s shoulder again. Another flinch.

Beca turned around to look at Jesse and rubbed her arm. “Dude, can you stop punching me? It hurts.”

“Sorry.”

“And Amy, I'm not that tiny. All the other people are just too tall.”

Amy grinned. “If you say so. But let me ask you one thing. If you go to the supermarket, do you need help when you need something from the top shelf?”

Beca blushed.

Amy sniggered. “Thought so. Too small.”

Beca was about to reply with a witty remark, when she was interrupted by another teacher. A woman this time. 

“Good Morning class. Please calm down and let's start this lesson, we have a lot on our agenda today.”

Everyone took a seat except for Beca. She slowly made her way over to the teacher's desk after Jesse pushed her slightly in that direction. 

“Umm, good morning. I'm new today and I was told to give you this paper to sign.”

The teacher, a small round woman with short blonde hair looked up from her papers to look at Beca. She took the offered paper and quickly signed it before giving it back.

“Oh hello. Well then, what's your name?”

“Beca Mitchell, Mrs...”

“I'm Mrs Roday. Why don't you introduce yourself to the other students and sit down next to Amy?”

Beca nodded and turned around.

She took a deep breath and repeated her greeting from earlier. “Well, my name is Beca Mitchell, I'm new at this school and it's nice to meet all of you I guess.”

Jesse snorted when her heard her unenthusiastic greeting.

Beca shot him an unamused stare when she walked over to Amy and sat down next to her.

The rest of the lesson went by pretty fast with Amy's running commentary on the novel they were discussing at the moment. Beca found Amy to be amusing but a little too forward and touchy feely. While the blonde was talking she would touch Beca's arms and hands. It was just to make a point and Beca knew that a lot of people did these kind of things, but she didn't think she could handle that for long periods of time. 

So she was happy when the bell rang and the students ran outside to be the first one in the lunch queue.

Beca followed Jesse and Amy to their usual table where a friendly looking guy was already sitting.

“Hey Benji.” Jesse greeted the boy and sat down next to him. 

“Hey Jesse. Who's your new friend?”

Beca sat down next to Jesse as he told the other boy who she was. Amy was nowhere to be seen. Beca figured she was getting lunch or something.

“That's Beca, my best friend. She just moved into this area of town and today is her first day.”

Benji smiled and looked at Beca. “Nice to meet you. I'm Benjamin, but my friends call me Benji.”

Beca smiled back. He seemed like a friendly guy. Maybe this friends thing wasn't as horrible as she always thought.

“Nice to meet you too.”

Beca closed her eyes for a moment when Benji and Jesse were engrossed on their conversation. Today had been tiring and school was just half way over. She still had U.S. History to go through and then after that would be the dreaded gym class. Beca had always hated gym class. She did like running and exercising but being pushed together with so many uncoordinated people in close quarter was exhausting and never fun. She wouldn't even start thinking about the locker room. She would get to that problem when she was confronted with it and not a second sooner. 

The brunette girl had talked so much on this day she didn't even remember the last time she had talked that much. The only person she ever really talked to for longer periods of times was Jesse. But she had decided to give this thing a last chance so she tried being nice to people that approached her. 

She opened her eyes again and started looking around the cafeteria. She could make out Chloe and her friends at a table on the far right of the room. They were laughing and having fun. It was a pretty big group and Beca noticed that most of the guys were wearing football jerseys. The popular crowd. 

Beca let her eyes wander around the room and watched the students eat their food and make fun of each other. She had always loved watching people interact with each other. 

A flash of green caught her eye and she turned around to see a middle aged man watching her from beside the entrance of the cafeteria. He was wearing a green overall and a green cap. He looked straight into her eyes for a few seconds and then turned around to leave the room. Beca could make out the white letters that spelled 'janitor' printed on the back of his overall.

Beca wondered briefly if he had been watching her but thought nothing of it since she didn't know the guy. She turned back around to Jesse and Benji and decided to get involved in their conversation. Who knows, maybe she would find some friends here. And Benji and Amy, who had since come back from her food run, seemed like a pretty good start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the first part of the 'first day of school chapter'. It was getting pretty long so I decided to split it. The other one will be uploaded later this week. Thanks again for all the support, you guys are amazing. I hope you liked this first part and if you did, please leave a little comment to let me know :)


	7. Chapter 7

Beca's lunch break was nearly over when Amy asked her what her next class was.

“Um, I'm not sure, let me check my schedule.” Beca murmured while she searched her bag for her schedule. She found it and read it out loud.

“Well, after lunch it's U.S. History for me and after that comes gym class.”

Benji visibly perked up at that. “Awesome, I have U.S. History now too. I can walk with you to class if you want to.”

Beca wasn't sure what to expect from the other boy but Jesse told her he was friends with him. And Beca had decided to make new friends at this school. So she painted a fake smile on her face and looked at Benji.

“Thanks Benji, I would appreciate that. What's the class like? My previous history classes were more than boring so I hope this one can hold my attention for more than five seconds.”

Benji grinned. “Sorry, I think I once managed to listen to Mr Danes for a full five minutes but that was only because he told us that we wouldn't have U.S. History for three weeks because he was getting surgery. Other than that it's pretty much as boring as any other History class.”

“Hm. A class to look forward to then.”

Benji and Jesse chuckled. “Yeah, Becs. Don't fall asleep, then you would be the new kid that was late on her first day and didn't manage to stay awake for her first History lesson.”

“Shut it, Jesse.” Beca grumbled but couldn't suppress a small smile.

A sudden silence in the cafeteria caught Beca's attention. She turned around to look what had caused everyone to be quiet.

Chloe and Stacie were walking over to her table and half the football team seemed to follow them.

Beca's eyes widened as she saw the amount of people that were walking in her direction.

“Woah, you know them shortstack? That's an awful lot of popular people walking over here.” Amy asked quietly.

Before Beca could answer, Chloe and Stacie had already arrived at their table.

“Hey Beca.” Chloe said and sat down next to her.

“Um, hey Chloe.” Beca answered uncomfortably.

The red headed girl smiled brightly at Beca. “Sorry about these guys. I mentioned that I wanted to come over and ask about your classes and they decided to come along.”

Beca looked at the popular guys standing around her table and at Stacie and the blonde girl that was sitting next to Chloe in their Pre-Calculus class who were standing behind Chloe, obviously listening in on their conversation.

“Um, are they all your friends?”

“Kinda. You've already met Stacie.” She pointed at the brunette girl who shot Beca a flirty smile and waved at her. “And this is Aubrey. They are my best friends.” Chloe pointed at the scowling blonde that stood next to Stacie. Aubrey nodded once in Beca's direction and then continued looking around the room.

“Um, yeah, nice to see you again Stacie. Nice to meet you Aubrey.”

“Hey Beca.” Stacie greeted while Aubrey gave her a short “Hey.”.

Beca looked at the rest of the people standing around her table until Chloe noticed.

“Oh! Yes, these are some guys from the football team. We spend our breaks together and stuff.”

Chloe leaned closer to Beca so only she could hear. “But I wouldn't call them close friends. It's more like they are following me everywhere and I humor them.”

The brunette girl frowned. “Why would you do that? I would find it pretty annoying if so many people would follow me around everywhere I go.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, it's annoying sometimes, but they are Tom's friends so I tolerate them.”

Beca looked at the guys a little closer. “Is he here?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, he sent me a text this morning saying he was sick.”

“Oh. Well, was there anything you wanted? This is kinda getting a lot of attention. From everyone. And why are we still whispering?”

Chloe shrugged. “Who cares? Do you want them to listen to everything we say? I always find it easier to just ignore them. And yes, I wanted to ask you about your classes and if we have another one together. And when you would be finished with classes so we can go home together. I don't know why we haven't exchanged numbers already, I would have texted you and avoided all this excitement.”

She opened her hand and held it in front of Beca expectantly. Beca blinked twice and then pulled out her phone and put it in Chloe's hand. The ginger grinned widely and quickly put her number in Beca's phone. She sent herself a quick text so she had Beca's number as well. She gave it back to Beca and waited for some answers.

“Um, I have U.S. History after lunch and after that it's gym class.”

Chloe's smile brightened. “Awesome! We'll have gym together and can go home together after that. And I think Bree has U.S. History as well, right?” She turned around to look at Aubrey.

“What was that Chloe? I couldn't understand you, you two have been whispering for the last five minutes.”

“Oh, sorry Bree. I asked if you have U.S.History now?”

“I do. Why?”

“Beca has it now as well. Can you show her around?”

Aubrey frowned but before she could say something Beca interrupted them. “It's okay Chloe. Benji will show me around.”

Chloe furrowed her brows. “Benji?”

Beca nodded and turned around to point at the friendly brunette boy.

It was then that Chloe noticed that everyone had been watching her and Beca for the last five minutes and that she hadn't even introduced herself.

“Oh! I'm so sorry for intruding on your lunch break guys, I just wanted to chat with Beca for a moment. I'm Chloe.”

Amy was the first to respond. “Oh, we know who you are Miss Chloe Beale. I think everyone at this school knows who you are. I'm Amy. Why are you talking to shortstack over there? Do you know each other?”

Chloe nodded. “Yes, she lives with me and my family. It's nice to meet you Amy. But why are you calling her shortstack?”

Amy and Jesse snorted. “Isn't it obvious?” Amy answered with a grin on her face.

Chloe turned around to look at Beca, who was scowling at Jesse and Amy. “Well, if you ask me like that...”

“We got it! I'm short, can we maybe move this conversation to a more interesting topic?” Beca exclaimed, a little annoyed by the constant jabs at her very respectable height.

Everyone grinned. “Okay Becs. So this is Benji over here and I'm Beca's best friend Jesse. Nice to meet you Chloe.” Jesse pointed at Benji who waved a short hello in Chloe's direction.

“Yes, I think Beca mentioned you Jesse.”

A loud cough from behind Chloe caught everyone's attention.

“Oh, yes I nearly forgot. This is Stacie and the blonde one next to her is Aubrey.”

Again, Stacie waved and Aubrey nodded.

Before anyone could continue this strange conversation the ringing bell told everyone that classes would start in three minutes.

Aubrey and the football team stalked off without another word. Stacie yelled a goodbye at everyone and Amy went to her next class with a shout of “See you later Nerds.”

That left Beca, Chloe, Jesse and Benji at their table.

“I guess I'll see you in gym class then, Beca. We can talk about the rest there. I hope you won't fall asleep in class.” Chloe said and stood up. She smiled at everyone and left the table to hurry to her next class.

“So.”

“So?”

“Don't be like that Becs! What was that?” Jesse asked excitedly.

Beca shrugged and stood up from the table and gathered her bag. “That was Chloe. I have to go to class, are you coming Benji?” The friendly boy nodded and stood up as well.

“We'll be talking about this later, Mitchell.”

Beca grinned and followed Benji out of the cafeteria. “Yeah Jesse, we'll see about that. Have fun in class!”

Beca and Benji hurried to their History class and Beca introduced herself to Mr Danes and the class the same way she did in her other two classes.

Sadly, Benji was right when he told her that the class was boring. She was sitting next to Benji and he made some comments about class but left her alone for the most part. Which Beca really appreciated. So many people had wanted to talk to her today and it was a little overwhelming for Beca. She normally didn't have a huge problem with crowds and people, even if she didn't like them, but when all these people were interested in you and talking to or about you, things changed. She was glad for the short break in this class. Well she was glad for about twenty minutes. After that she remembered what would follow after the class ended.

Gym class.

Beca hated gym class. She didn't hate exercising, she did enjoy a good jog around the block and liked most sports like football and volleyball. But she hated changing in the locker rooms. She had a rather huge number of scars that weren't easy to hide or to explain if somebody saw.

In her last school she had managed to hide her scars quite well but due to her many excuses and late arrivals, the other students thought she was weird and ignored her for the most part. Which didn't really bother Beca but her gym teacher wasn't happy about her constant late arrivals. To make it short, it had been hard to come up with new ideas why she was late or why she had to leave her class before gym class early or why she had to go to the bathroom before changing. It didn't help that she only ever wore long sleeved shirts and long jogging pants. The other people started speculating and Beca didn't like that some rumors cut very close to the truth.

Beca was startled out of her thoughts by the ringing bell announcing the end of her lesson.

_Damn, why are classes always moving faster when you don't want them too?_

“So Beca, what did you think? Riveting class, right?” Benji asked and grinned at her.

Beca shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Yeah, totally. Fascinating stuff.”

Benji chuckled. “You didn't listen to a single thing he said. I sure hope you are good at memorizing because that's what you have to do if you don't listen in class. Mr Danes exams are always pretty hard.”

Beca deflated. “Damn. I guess I'll have to listen from now on, huh?”

“Yes, probably. Anyway, I'll be off to my next class, see you tomorrow? It was really nice to meet you Beca.”

Beca smiled an honest smile. “You too Benji. See you tomorrow.”

With that Benji grabbed his bag and left the room.

Beca slowly stood up and started making her way to the door. When she arrived there she stopped for a moment. She didn't know where the gymnasium was.

She sighed deeply and looked around to find someone who she could ask.

_Where is Jesse when I need him?_

She looked around for a few seconds and spotted a familiar red head walking in her direction.

“Beca!”

“Chloe, thank god. Do you mind showing me where the gym is? I just noticed I have literally no idea where to go.”

Chloe stopped next to Beca and grinned. “That's why I'm here. Come on, we have to change and Coach Price doesn't like it when we are late. I think he'll make an excuse since it's your first day, but we can try to be on time anyway. Let's go.”

With that, Chloe started a brisk pace. They arrived at the gym three minutes later. It was a building directly connected to the main school building. Chloe stopped in front of a room that had 'Women's Locker Room' spelled on it with white paint.

“I'll go in and change. Why don't you go into the gym and talk to Coach Price. I guess you don't have clothes to change into with you, right?”

Beca shook her head.

“That's what I thought. Just talk to him and I think you can sit out today. We had a new student last year and she could sit out the first day too.”

Beca nodded and with a short smile at Chloe, she turned around to head to the gym doors.

“See you in a minute, Beca!” Chloe called and vanished into the locker room.

Beca rolled her eyes. Of course they would. No need for a huge goodbye.

The brunette girl opened the doors and walked down the bleachers. She saw a tall man with brunette hair standing next to basket with basketballs. It looked like he was pumping air into some  
of the balls.

Making her way over to him quickly, she introduced herself when he looked up at her with a smile.

“Hello, I'm Beca Mitchell and I'm new in your class. I have just transferred to this school and I didn't know I would have Physical Education today so I don't have any stuff to change into with me. Would it be okay if I sat out today? I'll bring my stuff tomorrow, I promise.”

“Hello, I'm Coach Price. Nice to meet you Beca and that's fine, you can sit out today. But that's a one time thing. I expect you to be punctual and give it your best. Did you play any kind of sports in your old school?”

Beca sighed in relief. One day less she had to worry about gym class was a win in her book.

“Um, no. I didn't have much time for clubs and stuff. But I do like running.” Beca added when Coach Price's face fell.

The grin was back on his face. “Excellent. Track team then? I'm their trainer, it would be good to have another addition to the team.”

Beca's eyes widened. “Um, that's not... I didn't mean...”

Just in that moment most of the students came out of their respective locker rooms and started talking loudly with each other.

“That's fine, we'll talk about it later. Why don't you sit down over there during the lesson? We'll be playing basketball for the next few weeks.”

 _Oh great_ , Beca thought as she went over to the bleachers to sit down. _Not only does he think I am good enough for the track team, now we are playing basketball. Damn my parent's genes._ _Why do I have to be this short?_

Beca had just sat down when Chloe came running over to her and sat down next to her.

“Hey, so can you sit out today?”

Beca nodded. “Yeah, he was nice about it. But I kinda told him I like running and now he thinks I want to join his track team.”

Chloe laughed. “Oh, that sounds like him. Don't worry, he's very passionate about our track team. He always tries to recruit new students. Just tell him you don't want to be on the team, or better, show him that you aren't fast enough when he makes you try out.”

“Hm, I hope you are right. I don't really have an interest in being part of a team. And I don't have the time for that anyway.”

Chloe tilted her head a little. “You don't? Do you already have after school activities I don't know about?”

Beca was about to reply when she stopped short. Oh, she thought. I don't have to hurry home anymore. I actually have free time.

“Chloe! We are choosing the teams, come here.” Coach Price shouted.

Chloe sent Beca an apologetic smile and started running back to her classmates.

“We'll continue this later!” She shouted over her shoulder.

Beca sat on the bleachers for the next one and a half hours and watched Chloe play basketball. Well, she watched everyone but she caught herself a few times when she was just following Chloe with her eyes. She couldn't help herself. How could somebody be so graceful when they were running and jumping around with a ball while evading huge guys and screaming girls? Chloe was one of the only girls that actually put a little effort into playing while most of the others just walked in the direction of the ball and when somebody else snatched it away they jumped back and squealed.

It was painful to watch sometimes, but in the end, the guys and the few girls that actually played, managed to get a good game going.

Ten minutes before class officially ended, Coach Price blew his whistle and everyone crowded around him. Thankfully he stood only a few feet next to where Beca was sitting so she could hear what he was saying.

“Thanks guys, that was a fun lesson. And girls, a little more effort tomorrow please. I'll let you go early if you promise to have a little enthusiasm tomorrow.”

The faces of the students lit up and a murmur of positive assurances was heard from the group.

“Excellent! You are dismissed then. See you guys tomorrow!”

With that the students hurried to the locker rooms. Beca stood up and headed over to the gym doors, but was stopped by Chloe.

“Becs, wait! I'll just take a quick shower and then I'll meet you in front of the school? We can go home together then.”

 _Shower?!_ Beca's thoughts went into overdrive. _They didn't expect her to shower at the school after gym class as well, right? She could just go back to the Beale's house and shower there, right? Where there was a lock on the door?_

“Beca?”

Beca jumped a little but focused on Chloe again, who was waving her hand in front of Beca's eyes.

“Sorry, I spaced out a little. Um, that's fine, I'll just head over to the office and talk to Mrs Clarke. She said I had to come back for a few more papers. So when I'm not there when you finish your shower, I'll still be in the office. But you can head on home without me, it's fine. I think I remember the way.”

“Don't be ridiculous. I'll be waiting. I really need that shower, see you later.”

Chloe turned around and hurried to the locker rooms.

Beca put the thoughts about possible showers in public bathrooms out of her mind and made her way back to the office.

“Ah, Beca, how was your first day?” Mrs Clarke asked when Beca opened the office door.

“It was fine. Everyone was nice.”

Mrs Clarke smiled. “I'm glad. So, did all your teachers sign your paper?”

Beca nodded and gave the slip of paper back to her.

“Good. Now we only have a few things to go over. So your last school sent us your last report card...”

The next ten minutes were spent going over Beca's previous classes and counting her credits. In the end, Mrs Clarke strongly suggested that Beca should take part in an after school activity to get more credits.

“I'll get credits for singing in a choir or being part of a sports club?”

Mrs Clarke nodded. “Yes, it would be like an extra music or sports class. If you want to graduate in two years I think you need to take part in a club to gain the necessary credits.”

Beca wasn't happy about that but thanked Mrs Clarke anyway as she left the office.

She walked out of the school and found Chloe already waiting for her.

“Hey.”

Chloe turned around and smiled brightly at Beca. Beca noticed that the other girl had put her hair in a bun like the way she had been wearing it when the two of them first met last week. She really liked that look on Chloe.

“Hey Becs! So, did you finish the paper work?”

Beca nodded and the two of them started their ten minute walk back to the Beale's house.

“Yes. But Mrs Clarke said I had to get an extra credit. She suggested taking part in an after school activity. I'm not sure I want to do that.”

“That's awesome. Now you'll have no choice but to become part of the Bellas!”

Beca quirked an eyebrow. “The what?”

“My a capella group. Please, you have to join.”

Beca smirked. “Um no. I don't even sing, so...”

“Oh come on. You can't be that bad. Sing for me?”

Beca gaped at Chloe. “Are you crazy? We're out in the open.”

It was Chloe's turn to smirk now. “So you will sing for me when we're not out in the open? Aw, thanks Beca!”

“Wait, what? That isn't what I said and you know it. Can you please drop this?”

Chloe pouted. “Okay, fine, but I'm living with you. You'll see, I'll get you to sing for me.”

“We'll see about that.”

They continued their way in silence for the next few minutes.

“Um, Chloe? Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“It's just, during lunch you said that your boyfriend was sick today.”

When Beca didn't continue talking, Chloe turned her head to look at her. “Yes?”

“I was just wondering why you weren't visiting him? Now I mean. Isn't that what you are supposed to do? Visit your significant other when they are sick?”

Chloe hesitated for a moment. “Well, yes I suppose that is what you are supposed to do.”

“Then why are you walking home with me?”

Chloe chuckled for a moment at Beca's confusion.

“You want me to be honest? I totally forgot. I mean, he texted me this morning and I wished him well and all but after that I didn't really think about him all that much. Does this make me a bad girlfriend?”

Beca grinned playfully. “It does.”

Chloe's eyes widened. “Hey! I resent that! Can't a girl forget something without being judged for it?”

Beca shrugged. “Maybe. I don't know. So now that you remember, you want to head over to his place? It isn't too late, you know?”

Chloe stopped walking for a moment. “You know what Beca? I don't really want to spent the rest of today catering my whiny boyfriend. How about we'll go home, eat some of my mother's awesome cooking and then spent a few more hours on my brother's laptop? I really had fun with that yesterday.”

Chloe didn't need to ask twice. Beca had really enjoyed herself yesterday and wanted to spent as much time with the mixing software as she possibly could. If Chloe wanted to keep her company, who was she to complain?

Beca quickly agreed and the two of them hurried home. They didn't notice a guy in a black jacket and blue jeans following them all the way from the school. He made a quick photo of Chloe's house when the two of them crossed the threshold and turned around to walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say that I don't know how the credit system works (we don't have that here in Germany) so I just assumed that you'll get credits for after school activities. I'm sorry if that isn't the case, I just needed it so Beca will have no choice but to take part in one of these activities :D Thanks again for all the support, you guys are awesome :) There is one thing I want to point out though: Some of you said that Jesse should know that Beca didn't like to be touched and that he should back off a little. He does know that, BUT her total aversion to touch is a more recent development. Jesse and Beca have been friends for a few years but they mostly only met up sporadically because they went to different schools and they didn't have much free time, especially Beca. They are good friends but Beca always accepted light touches like the playful punching on the shoulder (at least from Jesse). Beca didn't tell anyone about what happened in her last home and during her stay there, she couldn't see Jesse as much as she wanted to. When they managed to meet up, Beca hid her reactions from him. So Jesse knows that Beca doesn't like being hugged but he could always get away with his playful behavior. He's excited that he can see Beca more often now that they are going to the same school so he isn't as observant as he normally would be. Please don't judge him, he doesn't know any better (for now).  
> So, as always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, please leave a little comment to let me know :)


	8. Chapter 8

Beca sighed deeply as she flopped down onto the bed in her room after she had come home from school on Friday.

It had been an eventful week for the brunette girl.

School was okay. She quite liked Jesse's friends Amy and Benji. The teachers were nice too, but Beca had noticed that she had a lot of work to do if she wanted to graduate high school with good grades.

Now that she had spent nearly a week with the Beales who had no expectations of her other than being home before ten at night and eating regular meals, she had free time for the first time in years. Most of that time, she spent mixing or hanging out with Jesse or Chloe.

Chloe.

Well, that was a topic she didn't really know how to broach.

After their rocky start, they had spent a lot of time together. Usually they would meet up in the basement after dinner and worked on homework together while listening to music or spent time on Nathan's laptop mixing songs. Beca was starting to think that she had maybe found another friend in the red headed girl, since she was starting to feel comfortable around her, which hadn't even happened with Jesse completely.

Not to mention all the other people. Beca had been around so many people lately, she didn't quite know how to handle that. She certainly wasn't used to it but did her best to keep talking and act friendly. It didn't always work but at least Jesse and Chloe seemed to appreciate her trying.

Chloe.

She liked the red head. She was friendly and respected Beca's boundaries for the most part. There had been one incident where the redhead had suddenly hugged her in excitement and Beca had instantly frozen solid. Chloe, of course, noticed this immediately and quickly let her go. She didn't make a big deal out of it, just continued their conversation as if the hug and Beca's strange reaction to it didn't happen. Beca had appreciated that.

The brunette had appreciated Chloe's restraint even more when she slowly realized over the course of the week, that Chloe was a very physical person. She expressed her feelings with touches and hugs and it warmed Beca's heart that Chloe held such a big part of her personality back for her sake.

Beca thought Chloe made a good friend. She didn't ask uncomfortable questions and didn't bat an eyelash at Beca's new habit of wearing her work out clothes under her normal clothes every day. She didn't say anything about Beca not showering at school, that she always waited until they arrived back at the Beale's house.

Chloe had tried all week to go home with Beca after school, but she only managed to do that twice, since she had Bella's practice two times a week and on Wednesday Tom convinced her to head over to his house for a little after school.

Tom.

One of the topics Beca didn't like to think about. She had met the guy on Tuesday during their lunch period and immediately didn't like him. It wasn't that he was unfriendly, but something about the way he spoke to Chloe and took her for granted rubbed Beca the wrong way.

Chloe had talked about Tom a little more over the course of the week.

They had been together for a while now and Chloe genuinely liked the guy but Beca thought that something was missing in the way Chloe spoke about him and in the way she was looking at him when they were together. The brunette couldn't exactly pin point what it was, but she was determined to continue observing the redhead's relationship. She felt a little like a stalker after thinking that but quickly shrugged it off as a concerned reaction for her new friend.

Chloe's friends were another thing though. Stacie seemed friendly enough and they often talked during their Pre-Calculus class. Beca had quickly noticed that Stacie was quite intelligent and the small brunette used the time in class to get some pointers from her.

She was still careful what she said to other people but she thought that she could maybe relax a little given time. It would take more than a week of course, but she was hopeful. A feeling she hadn't felt in the last years.

Then there was Aubrey.

The thing Beca admired about the blonde was her extreme desire to protect the people she called friends.

Beca had gathered from some comments that Chloe had made, that Aubrey's family wasn't the easiest to get along with. Something about ridiculously high expectations that made it hard for Aubrey to please her parents.

But Beca didn't think that having her own problems entitled Aubrey to treating her the way she has been doing for the past week. Beca hadn't done anything to the blonde as far as she could remember and the brunette had thought the initial caution and skepticism would have ebbed up by now. But it hadn't. If all, Beca felt as though Aubrey was treating her worse than when they first met. Which is why she was glad that the two of them didn't have much contact with each other.

They avoided each other for the most part and only occasionally exchanged words when they sat at lunch together.

Which is another change Beca didn't really approve of.

Ever since Chloe had approached her during lunch on Monday, the other students had become increasingly more interested in her. They talked to her during classes and occasionally stopped her in the hallway for mindless chit chat. Beca always mumbled some excuse why she couldn't speak with them and hurried to her next class.

But on Tuesday Chloe had decided to sit with Beca during lunch from the start. Which meant that Stacie and Aubrey tagged along as well. Since Beca was already sitting with Jesse, Amy and Benji again, their table quickly became crowded. Or at least that was what she had thought until half of the football team, including Tom, had decided to follow Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey.

Beca had watched with wide eyes as the guys had moved tables, chairs and people so they could sit at their table as well. Well, extended table, since another two had been shoved next to theirs to connect them. A mumbled comment from Amy about the shortstack making them popular on her second day didn't really lift Beca's bad mood.

She was crushed between Jesse and Chloe because everyone had wanted to sit together. She had to take some deep breaths to prevent herself from bolting immediately. The brunette had made herself as small as possible and had tried to avoid touching Jesse and Chloe. Which didn't really work all that well but Beca was proud to say that she had managed to stay sitting during the whole lunch period. Which may or may not have had something to do with Chloe talking to her non stop.

That didn't mean that she hadn't been hugely relieved when the bell signaling the end of lunch had rang. She had spent the rest of the day avoiding people who had the sudden urge to talk to her. She had been pretty exhausted when she came home that evening.

Home.

Well, the Beale's house.

Beca wouldn't call it home and probably never will but it was the place she was staying at at the moment. And as for places to stay, this one wasn't half bad.

Mr and Mrs Beale were nice people and mostly left her to her own devices. Claire had made sure she ate her dinner and asked her regularly if she needed something. Andrew made sure to talk to her during dinner but left her alone otherwise. Which Beca was grateful for.

Claire had suggested a shopping trip the following weekend when she noticed that Beca had only about three shirts and two jeans. Beca protested heavily of course, but then Chloe chimed in and was excited to go shopping with Beca. The brunette tried to protest some more but Chloe had already texted Stacie to plan a shopping trip for Saturday.

Luckily no Aubrey though. She was apparently busy with something. Not that Beca cared all that much.

Strangely, Beca couldn't really say no to a brightly smiling Chloe and caved eventually. Not without a little pouting and stomping of her feet of course. Not that anyone got to see those actions. But Beca felt like doing them anyway, so she excused herself to the bathroom and got her frustration out of her system. It kinda worked but Beca didn't want to spent too much time thinking about that.

The nightmares didn't stop though. She had them every night but did her best to keep quiet. Chloe kept her promise and didn't try to wake her, even though Beca had noticed that the redhead was awake for most of them. Beca always slipped out of the door and smoked a cigarette or two on the porch after the nightmares. She didn't smoke during the day. She hadn't found a reason to yet.

When she came back inside she always noticed that there was light coming through the gap under Chloe's door, so she knew that the redhead was awake. Luckily Chloe never asked about them during daylight and Beca quite liked that. Her nightmares were personal and she hoped to get rid of them soon.

On Thursday, Marie came around to visit. She had sent a few texts to Beca to ask how everything was going, but Beca's simple replies of 'Fine.' and 'Okay.' apparently weren't enough for the social worker. So she had decided to come around on Thursday evening after dinner.

Claire and Andrew had welcomed her warmly and the adults had talked for about half an hour until Marie went in search of Beca. She had found her in the basement, tinkering on Nathan's laptop with the mixing software.

“Hey Beca.”

The brunette looked up from the laptop and took the headphones from her ears to rest them comfortably around her neck. “Hey Marie.”

Marie had sat down next to Beca, on the chair Chloe normally occupied. It stood a little too close to Beca's chair for her to feel comfortable, so she rustled around until it subtly moved further away from Marie.

“So, how has it been so far? Your texts sounded positive but I wanted to make sure. Are the Beale's treating you alright? Do you get along with them?”

Beca nodded. “Yes, everything is fine. You didn't need to come here and check on me. I don't want to inconvenience you.”

Marie laughed. “You aren't an inconvenience Beca. This is my job and I love helping people. I want you to remember that you can always call me if you need help. I promise I will do my best to help you to the best of my abilities.”

Beca didn't quite know what to say to that so she stayed silence but nodded once.

“You like them?”

“The Beales are nice.”

“So you want to stay here?”

Beca lifted her head quickly. “Why? Did they say something? Do they want to send me back?”

Marie tried to take Beca’s hand to squeeze it reassuringly but the brunette girl pulled away.

“No, they haven’t said anything. They like you and want to help you. Don’t worry so much.”

Beca snorted. “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to worry that somebody will kick you out if you do something wrong.”

Marie sighed. “Beca, really. You don’t have to worry about that. The Beales won’t kick you out if you step out of line once or twice. They seem genuine in their desire to help.”

Something about that rubbed Beca the wrong way. “How do you know? You don’t know these people and I don’t know them either. Who knows how they will react if something goes wrong? And even if they want to help now, things can change. They have before, so why should I believe anything they say?”

Beca didn’t know where this sudden anger came from. She liked the Beales and hadn't had a problem with them yet.

Marie didn’t know where this outburst came from either. “Beca, is something wrong? What do you mean that things changed before? Are you talking about the Wests?”

Beca shut her mouth immediately. “I wasn’t talking about anything. Please don’t fish for information. You read my file, you know why they took me out of that house.”

Now it was Marie’s time to snort. “Yeah, right. You know that your file is completely made up. Mr Flemming didn’t want to be bothered and made up visits and wrote a report that said everything was fine. If you hadn’t landed in the hospital that time, there would be a total of two written pages about your time with the Wests. So I know next to nothing about your time there.”

Beca glared at her. “And if I have anything to say about it, it will stay that way.”

“Why are you so hostile all of a sudden? I just want to help you.”

Beca sighed. “I know. Just drop it please.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll drop it. But you can talk to me, alright?”

The brunette couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Sure.” She liked Marie, but that didn’t mean she trusted her. Or anyone for that matter. What’s in the past should stay there and Beca didn’t like that Marie was bringing it up. “Was there anything else you wanted?”

Marie shook her head. “No. I just wanted to check up on you. I’ll come back next week, okay? Maybe you can tell me a little about how you like your new school then?”

The small brunette shrugged. “I don’t know what you want to know but sure.”

Marie took a deep breath. “Okay, I can see that you are busy. We’ll talk next week, alright?”

“Yes. And…” Marie was already halfway out of the room, when Beca’s words stopped her.

“Just… I know that you are trying to help. And I appreciate it. Thanks I guess.” With that Beca pulled her headphones back over her ears and turned back to the laptop.

Marie smiled as she made her way back up the stairs. She didn’t know why Beca suddenly got angry but she thought Beca’s thanks meant that she was doing something right. Hopefully Beca would open up a little, given time.

 

Beca didn't want to think about things anymore, so she got up from the bed in her room and spent the next two hours mixing and then had dinner with the Beales, except for Chloe who had headed over to Stacie’s place to get ready for some party.

Dinner was a little awkward without the bubbly redhead who would fill any upcoming silence with excited chatter, but Beca made it. She talked a little with Claire and they discussed their plans for the weekend.

So far there was only the Shopping trip on Saturday for Beca. She thought about maybe visiting Jesse on Sunday, but wasn’t sure yet.

After dinner she went up to her room and got some of her textbooks out. Mixing was fun but she really wanted to graduate with good grades so she had to get some serious studying in.

Half an hour later Beca wasn’t really any smarter than before she had started studying. _Why is this stuff so hard? Maybe I should ask Jesse for a little help._

She grabbed her phone from somewhere beside the bed and was about to send a quick text when she noticed that she already had gotten two new messages.

One from Jesse and one from Chloe.

Beca stared at her phone, contemplating which one to read first. She figured since she wanted to talk to Jesse anyway, she should read Chloe’s text first. Simple logic, right? The small brunette tapped on Chloe’s name on her phone and read over the message.

**Hey Beca! Sorry that I missed dinner, but Tom is throwing a big party in his basement today and I’m with Stacie to get ready. Why don’t you come too? It will be fun and you can meet more people. See you later? xoxo C**

Beca groaned. Meeting new people really wasn’t on her agenda for today. Or any day. And seeing Tom again wasn’t really what she wanted to do either. And she should really get back to her books…

Not really knowing how to answer the text Beca decided to postpone it for a moment and read Jesse’s message next.

**Hey Becs! What do you say to hanging out sometime this weekend? I know we’ve seen each other every day over the past week but there were always so many people around. You can come over to my house, Mary wants to bake her awesome apple pie tomorrow. Oh, and since you kinda got us into the popular crowd, Amy, Benji and I are going to a party of some football guy tonight. You want to come? I promise, it will be fun. It’s been forever since we went out together. If you want to come, just text me, I’ll pick you up. J**

Uugh. Two invitations to the same party. Great.

After thinking about the invitations for the next ten minutes, Beca decided to give it a chance. Who knows, maybe it will be fun. And Jesse will be there. And Chloe of course. And she could always leave early if it got too much, she was sure Jesse would take her back to the house as soon as she asked. Decision made, she picked up her phone and sent out two messages.

**Hey Chloe. It’s no problem, dinner was fine. Jesse invited me to the party as well, so I think I will be there. Probably. See you later. B**

**Hey Jesse, sounds good. I have to go shopping tomorrow (uugh) but I’m free on Sunday. Text me the address to your house? I can’t believe I haven’t ever been there. Anyway, the party. I think I’ll come. When are you picking me up? B**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry, there wasn't really happening much in this chapter, but it was fun to write down some of Beca's thoughts. Next chapter we’ll get to see what happens at the party. We’ll meet some people again and see how Beca handles a big crowd. Thanks again for all the support :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, please leave a little comment to let me know :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Well, I'm not sure if it deserves a warning, but better save than sorry. Near the end of the chapter is a scene where someone is assaulted, so if someone has a problem with that, please skip the scene. Nothing too bad and nothing graphic. But, you know, the other person doesn't want it. I'll mark the beginning and end of the scene with *****

**I'm here. Come outside, no time left to change your mind :) J**

Beca rolled her eyes as she read the text from her best friend. It was a few minutes after eight and Beca had been ready for half an hour.

Since her 'getting ready' consisted of touching up her dark make up and running a brush through her hair, it didn't take long.

She chose to just continue wearing her clothes from the day. They would reek of alcohol and cigarettes when she came back anyway. Beca saw no gain in dirtying a fresh set of clothes for a few hours, if she had to wash two sets of clothes that way. Due to her meager wardrobe, changing wouldn't have changed much anyway. She had jeans and shirts. That was about it.

She didn't have a fancy party outfit but wasn't bothered by that. She usually avoided any kind of gathering where more than a handful of people would be present, so she didn't have a need for fancy clothes.

After gathering her leather jacket, she put it on and made sure that her cigarettes, a lighter, her phone and her house keys were in her pockets and started going downstairs.

Claire had given Beca the keys on Wednesday, saying that this was her house now as well and she was free to come and go as she liked as long as she left a short notice and was back by 10 pm.

The brunette arrived downstairs and heard the cluttering of dishes in the kitchen. She assumed it was Claire and wandered over to the kitchen door.

She was surprised when she saw Andrew filling the dishwasher while humming a happy song under his breath.

As soon as Andrew noticed Beca in the doorway, he turned around and smiled warmly at her.

“Beca! Nice to see you. Do you need something?”

Beca was nervous. It wasn't that she didn't like Mr Beale but she hadn't really interacted with him much during her week with the Beales. She didn't know what he expected from her and was uncomfortable when she was alone in the room with him. She couldn't help it. Experience had shown her that seemingly nice people can reveal themselves to have really ugly personalities.

Beca shuffled nervously from one foot to the other.

“Um. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to a party now. I don't know if I'll be back by ten. Is that okay? If it's not that's totally fine. I can just stay here, just let me send a quick text and then I can help you with the dishes. Or I can do it alone, whatever you prefer.”

Beca took her phone out of her jeans pocket and started typing a quick text while quietly berating herself. Stupid, you should have asked first. Or you should have just told Jesse that you don't like parties and stayed home in the first place. It's dangerous to get comfortable too fast, you know that.

“Beca? Beca?” Andrew had been trying to get the brunette girl's attention for the last 15 seconds but she seemed to be deep in thought, still typing on her phone.

When she didn't react to his voice, he came closer and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

He knew that his wife had told him to keep his distance for a while, until Beca feels comfortable around him but he didn't know how else to get her attention. He didn't want to shout at her, that seemed like a worse idea.

Andrew had of course noticed the girls reactions to him over the week and toned down his affectionate side to zero, but as expected, Beca had jumped away from him and looked at him with wide, frightened eyes.

“I'm sorry, I didn't want to startle you, but you couldn't hear me. I just wanted to tell you that it was fine. You don't have to cancel your plans. It's nice that you decided to tell me where you are going so we wouldn't worry. You can stay as long as you like, but please call us if something happens, alright? I guess you are going to the same party as Chloe?” Beca nodded shortly, still pretty tense.

“Well then, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told her. Stay out of trouble and don't drink until you can't think straight anymore. Please stop before that. Stay with your friends and have fun.”

Beca didn't really know what to say to that, so she just nodded and hurried out of the house. She jumped into Jesse's car and he started driving.

“Hey Beca, is everything alright? You look a little startled.”

A lot of thoughts were running through her brain but Beca decided to follow Andrew's advice and have fun tonight. She could always think about other things later.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting Chloe's father to be in the kitchen. I think he allowed me to drink, is that strange?”

Jesse laughed. “What did he say?”

“That I should stay out of trouble and shouldn't drink until I can't think straight anymore. That I should stop before that.”

The brunette boy grinned. “Sounds like a plan. And there was definitely a hinted approval somewhere in there. Not that it matters, or have you changed your mind about alcohol?”

Beca shook her head. “No. I don't want to be drunk ever again. I can't lose control like that again.”

“What do you mean exactly? You know, you never really told me the story behind your dislike of drinking.”

The brunette girl sighed. “A story for another day. Can we have fun tonight? I think I need to relax a little. And even though the Beales are nice, I can't really relax in a house full of strangers. Well, I don't know if I can relax during a party but at least I can go outside or something. We'll see.”

Jesse nodded understandingly. “I know. It was the same for me when I moved to new homes. It will get better, you'll see. I think this time it will work out. If her parents are anything like Chloe, I think you will like your stay with them and maybe last until graduation.”

Beca hummed. “Maybe. I'm not holding my breath though.”

“You will see Beca. Just don't shut yourself out too much. If something is going on, please tell me, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt again.”

Beca smiled gratefully at her friend and patted him on the arm once.

“Thanks Jesse. Now, what can we expect from this party? Are there any people we know? Apart from Chloe.”

“No problem Becs. Anytime. And yes, Amy and Benji will meet us there. They wanted to go a little earlier. And since Chloe will be there, I'm sure Aubrey and Stacie will be as well. Oh, and Tom, since it's his party. A few guys from the football team. That reminds me, thanks for making us popular, Becs! It only took you a day until all the popular people wanted to sit with us at lunch. Everybody knows our names now!”

“Yeah, awesome.” Beca replied dryly.

“Don't be like that. You will get used to it.”

Beca snorted. “I doubt that.”

The rest of the drive was spent in comfortable silence. Beca hummed along to the music playing through Jesse's radio and the brunette boy was just happy to have his friend by his side.

He had been very worried about her while she was in her former home and the group home. He knew that Beca constantly offended people without even trying or it being her fault and he had worried a lot when he couldn't have an eye on her. That's why he made sure she called him every night. He didn't want to find out later that something had happened that could have been prevented if someone had cared enough to check in on her from time to time.

They arrived ten minutes later and the party seemed to be in full swing already. A lot of cars were parked in front of Tom's huge house and music could be heard playing through the walls. Some people were sitting on the front porch, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.

Jesse parked the car in a free spot a few houses to the left and the two friends started walking towards the front door of Tom's house.

“This will be fun, I promise. Don't worry, I won't leave you alone.” Jesse reassured Beca with a squeeze to her left arm that earned him a genuine smile from the brunette girl.

“Let's do this.” she sighed and followed Jesse into the crowded living room.

 

Chloe had spent the afternoon at Stacie's house getting ready for the party. They had done their homework, because Aubrey insisted even though she wasn't there, and talked about their shopping trip the following day.

Stacie was excited to go shopping and to get to know the little brunette a little better. She liked her. She had spent the first few minutes of their Pre Calculus class talking to Beca over the last week and found her to be quite nice and interesting.

Beca didn't talk much but she always seemed to be paying attention to what Stacie was talking about. That couldn't be said about everyone and Stacie appreciated Beca for doing so.

Chloe just enjoyed being with her friend. She had the feeling that alone time with one of her friends became quite rare since she had started dating Tom and missed it. She loved spending time with Stacie and Aubrey together, but it was just different when there were just two people.

Aubrey came around to pick them up at 7:45 pm and asked them if they had fun and if they did their homework. Both girls rolled their eyes and quickly climbed into Aubrey's car that she had gotten on her sixteenth birthday from her father.

They had arrived at the party at 8 pm and Chloe instantly searched for Tom. Not because she missed him, but because everyone expected it from her.

Aubrey and Stacie went into the kitchen to look for some beer for Stacie and a water for Aubrey.

Chloe went into the living room and found Tom playing beer pong with a few guys from the football team, already half drunk. They were laughing and having fun, but Chloe didn't feel like joining them, so she just gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to say hello and went back to look for her friends.

They spent the next two hours in the kitchen talking and enjoying the music. At around ten, Stacie convinced the redhead that it was time to dance and grabbed her arm to steer her in the direction of the living room where the couches had been pushed against the walls to open a space for people to dance. Some people were already dancing and the two girls joined them.

Chloe had seen glimpses of Tom and his friends, but they didn't interact much. Justin had come by and had asked Chloe to dance but she quickly shot him down. She knew that he had apologized for the scene a few weeks ago but she wasn't feeling comfortable around him, since he was drinking heavily again. Who could promise her that he wouldn't try something again?

After half an hour of heavy dancing, the ginger made her way back to the kitchen where Aubrey was talking to... Jesse? Huh, strange.

She grabbed a bottle of water and joined the two of them.

“Hey you two, are you having fun?”

Jesse and Aubrey smiled at her and nodded.

“Yeah, great party by the way. Thanks for inviting us.” Jesse told her.

Chloe smirked. “Us? So you managed to drag Beca over here? And it's no problem, it's more or less an open party. I think Tom invited three fourths of the school.” The ginger told Jesse and looked around searchingly for a minute. The brunette boy laughed openly at the eager look on Chloe's face.

“Relax Chloe, she's not in here at the moment. She went outside a few minutes ago, I offered to accompany her but she declined and said she only needed a minute. She isn't used to big crowds.”

Looking worried now, Chloe took a big gulp from her water bottle, “You know her quite well, right?”

Jesse instantly held up his hands in defense. “Oh no way. If you want to know things about her, you have to ask her yourself. I won't betray her trust like that.”

Chloe pouted for a minute but sent Jesse a quick smile when she started walking to one of the doors leading into the backyard, thankful that Beca had such a good friend.

“I'm going to check on her. Are you two fine by yourselves?” Aubrey rolled her eyes and Jesse continued grinning.

“Go.” the blonde told her red headed friend and made shooing motions with her hands.

Chloe looked from Jesse to Aubrey for a moment and then winked at the blonde girl. That led to a bright blush from Aubrey who was staring daggers at her ginger best friend.

The redhead chuckled and made her way outside. As soon as she had taken a few steps outside, she had to admit that it had been a pretty stupid idea to go outside without a jacket. It was the middle of November and since Chloe only had a t-shirt on, she got cold quite quickly.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest to keep warm and took a few steps into the garden. She looked around for a little but couldn't see any sign of the short brunette.

She walked around the house but couldn't find Beca. Thinking that Beca might have already went back inside, Chloe went back to the door she had come through. Before she could make more than three steps in the direction of the door, a deep voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Hey Chloe.”

Chloe quickly turned around and saw Justin leaning against the wall next to the door.

“Justin. Hey. What are you doing outside?” Chloe asked as she stepped a few steps back. She didn't trust him, he looked really drunk.

“I saw you going outside. I wanted to talk to you again. Why won't you give me a chance? I'm a nice guy.”

*****

He came closer and Chloe went backwards until the wall of the garden house stopped her.

“Justin, you are drunk. Let's talk about this when you are sober.”

Chloe was starting to panic when he pushed her against the wall. She looked around but there was nobody outside who could see them. Sadly there wasn't any light next to the garden house either. Nobody would see them if they didn't look really closely.

The redhead pushed against his arms that rested next to her head on the wall.

“Justin, let me go. I'm warning you, I'm going to scream.”

“Why? What have I done to you? I just want to talk to you. What does Tom have that I don't? Money? Is that it?”

Chloe's fear was temporarily replaced with anger. “Do you think I'm that superficial? Let me go right now or I'll scream. If you think you can get a girl by forcing yourself on her than you are dumber than you look.”

The redhead noticed a second too late that angering a completely drunk person wasn't the best idea. Justin's glassy eyes flared in anger and he put his right arm across her chest to pin Chloe to the wall behind her. She used her hands to scratch at his arm, but he didn't move an inch. He used his other hand to grab her hair and tilt her head back. He came closer until his head was right next to hers and he could hiss in her ear.

“I wouldn't have said that if I were you. Do you know that I have watched you for months now? I always thought it would just be a matter of time until you broke up with that dumbass. It was pretty obvious that you weren't really into him and I thought I would get my chance eventually. But it doesn't look like you are going to break up with him anytime soon and I'm tired of waiting. I was always nice to you, wasn't I? Why won't you give me a chance?”

“Justin you are hurting me! Let me go!” Chloe said a little louder, hoping that someone would hear them. When nobody came she took a deep breath to prepare for a loud scream, but Justin seemed to notice and clasped the hand that had been in her hair over her mouth to prevent her from saying anything.

“Be quiet! I don't want to wait any longer, so I'll take what I want.”

That being said he replaced his hands with his lips and kissed her roughly. Chloe was struggling and scratching him heavily now but he didn't move. Tears were running down her cheeks and she pressed her lips tightly together when he tried deepen the kiss.

 _Please! Someone, please!_ She thought frantically as his left hand started to wander over her shoulder and going lower.

“Hey!”

******

Someone shouted and pulled Justin off of Chloe. The redhead sank to the floor, put her arms around her knees and tried to control her erratic breathing and the tears streaming down her face. She watched as a small brunette girl punched Justin straight in the face. He went down instantly and cradled his bleeding nose. Beca kicked him in the side once for good measure and hurried over to Chloe.

She didn't touch Chloe but sat down on her knees next to her to look her in the eyes. “Chloe? Are you alright? Damn, that's a stupid question. Can you stand? Should I call someone? Do we need to go to the hospital? Are you hurt?”

Chloe kept one eye on Justin who was still laying on the ground, nursing his probably broken nose. She wiped some tears from her face and looked into Beca's worried looking blue orbs. With a tiny sniffle she threw herself into Beca's arms and squeezed the brunette girl tightly. She noticed that Beca completely froze at the unexpected touch but had to express her gratitude somehow. Just for a few seconds.

“Thank god, Beca. I'm really glad you came by in the right moment. And I'm not hurt. Just a little frightened.”

Beca was frozen solid and didn't move a muscle. She knew that Chloe needed some comfort right now, but she was the worst person to give it. She ordered her muscles into lock down so she wouldn't bold. She couldn't force herself to return the hug, but she hoped staying still would be enough for Chloe.

Chloe breathed Beca's familiar calming scent in for a few moments and forced her limbs to detach themselves from Beca's rigid form. She suspected that it was hard for the small brunette to stay in the hug and she didn't want to overwhelm her.

So she slowly let go of the brunette and sat back down, back against the wall. She took another few calming breaths and then stood up. She was a little shaky on her feet but Beca put an arm around her to steady her.

“Are you sure that you are okay?”

Chloe scoffed. “Of course not. I'll probably break down any second now.”

Beca's eyes widened drastically. “Oh, umm, that's understandable. Should I get someone for you? Or call someone? I'd love to help you but I don't know if you have noticed but I'm really not good with this kind of situations. Because if you start crying again I wouldn't know what to do other than maybe kick that jerk over there some more. But that wouldn't help you at all and maybe I should get Aubrey and Stacie? Or maybe Tom? Yeah, that's a good idea, I'll be right back.”

Beca started to take a step in the direction of the door of the house but Chloe grabbed her hand quickly and stopped her. “Please, Beca, don't leave me alone. Can you just take me home?”

The brunette looked from Chloe to the door and back to Chloe again. She sighed and nodded. “I'll call us a cab, okay?”

Chloe nodded gratefully, squeezing Beca's hand tightly.

After Beca had made the call and they told her that a cab would pick them up in five minutes she went over to Justin who was still lying on the ground. He was probably too drunk to get up by himself.

She nudged him with her foot, harder than necessary, until he opened his bleary eyes to look at her.

“Listen to me asshole. If I find you talking to Chloe or being near her without a good reason ever again I'll kick your ass until you won't know where left and right is. And a good reason is only if you have some kind of assignment for class and if there are a ton of other people around. Never do something like this to a girl ever again, being drunk is no excuse. You are the worst. And now get up and get some ice for that nose. Do you understand me?”

He nodded carefully and tried to roll on his front. When he didn't manage it fast enough Beca helped him out with a well placed kick to his side. Justin squeaked in pain for a moment but managed to get his knees under him and slowly got up.

“Oh, before I forget. Don't tell anyone about this. It's not only your ass on the line here, it affects Chloe too. So until she decides if she wants to press charges, you better think up a good excuse why your nose is broken. And now, leave!”

Justin looked at her with wide eyes and mouthed 'charges' at her but her icy glare managed to shut him up and he made his way back into the house.

Beca turned around to see Chloe standing in the middle of the backyard, arms wrapped around herself tightly and silent tears streaming down her face again. The brunette walked over to her and steered her in the direction of the front of the house. They quickly walked past some other party guests who weren't paying them any attention. They arrived at the street and walked a few steps to the left so they couldn't be seen from the house.

“Chloe?”

“Hm?”

“I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner.”

Chloe tried to wipe the tears from her face once more but it didn't do anything since new tears just kept on coming.

“Beca, this isn't your fault. I'm glad that you came and saved me. Thank you.”

“But he was already all over you by the time I came around the corner. I should have walked around the corner sooner.”

“Don't be ridiculous, you couldn't have known.”

“But...”

“No, no buts. You saved me and I'm grateful. I could have done without that creep kissing me but it could have been way worse. So thank you.”

Beca sighed. She knew what Chloe meant, but she had endured way worse and she didn't wish even a fraction of her pain on Chloe. Chloe was happy and bubbly and didn't deserve things like this.

A yellow cab stopped next to them and Chloe and Beca quickly got into the back and Beca told the driver their address. He nodded and told them it would take about ten minutes.

Both girls sat on the back seat and Chloe was still clutching Beca's hand tightly. The brunette wasn't really comfortable with the continued touch but knew that Chloe needed some comfort so she didn't say anything. She used her right hand to fish her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick text to Jesse to let him know that he didn't need to take her home.

She looked at Chloe and noticed her nodding off slowly. “Hey Chlo?”

The redhead opened her eyes for a moment and blinked slowly at Beca. “Hm?”

“Should I maybe tell Aubrey or Stacie that you went home early? So they won't worry?”

Chloe hummed affirmatively and closed her eyes again. She was pretty exhausted.

Luckily, Beca had Stacie's number. The tall brunette had insisted since they were going on that shopping trip tomorrow.

**Hey Stacie, it's Beca. Chloe and I are going home early. We're taking a cab so don't worry about Chloe when you don't see her at the party anymore. B**

Beca was about to put her phone back into her pocket when it buzzed with a reply.

**Why? Is everything okay? S**

Not wanting to say anything without talking to Chloe first, she decided to lie a little.

**Yeah, just tired. See you tomorrow. B**

They arrived at the house a few minutes later and Beca paid the driver. He wished them a good night and drove off.

Beca had to half carry Chloe into the house. She was half asleep and stumbled a little when she walked. The house was dark so Beca assumed that Andrew and Claire were already asleep. She breathed a small sigh of relief and tried to get Chloe up the stairs without either of them falling or making a ruckus.

They managed to make their way into Chloe's room and the redhead sat down heavily on her bed.

Beca stood in front of her, not really knowing the protocol for this kind of situation.

“Um, Chloe, do you want to take a quick shower or something? There is grass all over you and I think you have blood under your finger nails. Oh, wait, that could be used as evidence. Um, do you want to press charges? Because if you want to, we probably have to go to the police right now.”

Chloe's eyes widened and she was suddenly more alert.

“Should I? I mean, I don't know how much you saw, but he more or less only pinned me against the wall and kissed me. I didn't want it and tried to get him off but it could have been way worse. I mean, it hasn't been the first time he tried something but I think deep down he is a good guy. But apparently he can't handle his alcohol at all.”

Beca sat down next to Chloe and looked her firmly in the eyes.

“What do you mean? He tried something like this before?”

Chloe nodded sadly. “A few weeks ago. We were at another party and he was drunk then too. But before anything could happen, Bree came and scared him off.”

“Chloe, I don't want to tell you what to do but if he has already tried it twice, it isn't an error in judgment anymore. I think you should go to the police and report it.”

“I don't know. That could really ruin his life, you know. And nothing really happened.”

“Chloe! Pressing you against the wall and forcing a kiss on you is not nothing.”

Tears started streaming down Chloe's cheeks again. “Can't I just take a shower and forget about this? If we go to the police, everyone would find out and I don't want that. I just want to sleep, is that okay?”

Beca deflated, a little disappointed but could understand Chloe's wish all too well. She didn't want to be a hypocrite, she had never gone to the police either. But she thought their situations were different. She was only a small dirty foster child and Chloe had parents, family and friend who supported her. The police would surely believe her.

“Okay. Do you need help?”

Chloe shook her head. “No. But can you maybe stay here until I get back from the bathroom?”

Beca nodded and watched as Chloe sent her a small smile, collected her sleep clothes and vanished through the door.

Twenty minutes later Chloe came back into the room and instantly fell into her bed. She looked up at Beca with a small smile.

“Thanks for staying. Um, I hate to ask since I know you aren't comfortable, but can you maybe stay with me tonight? Just in the same room, don't worry, but I'd feel safer that way.”

Beca was uncomfortable with that but thought she could manage a night in the same room as Chloe as long as she didn't need to touch her.

The brunette nodded and went over to Chloe desk chair and sat down after grabbing a blanket for herself. “This okay?”

Chloe smiled and nodded. “Yes, thank you. I know this is hard for you, I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“No problem. Now sleep. I promise I'll keep you safe.”

“Thanks.” Chloe mumbled as her eyes drifted shut. She was asleep ten seconds later.

Beca tried to make herself comfortable on the chair but the hard plastic didn't help. After around ten minutes of changing positions she got up and lay down on the floor next to Chloe's bed. She had slept on harder floors, she would manage.

She was a little worried about Chloe but hoped the redhead would feel better in the morning. With one last worried look in the redheads direction, Beca closed her eyes and fell into a deep exhausted sleep, where not even her nightmares could bother her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for all the support guys :) Short Info: I probably won't update any of my stories in the next two to three weeks because I'm going on vacation. But I'll be back in December and I even have a little free time in the last two weeks of December so I'll try to update a little faster :)


	10. Chapter 10

Beca hadn't slept well that night. She had experience with sleeping on hard floors but that didn't make it any more comfortable. She had managed a few hours of sleep before Chloe's uneasy movements had woken her up. Beca had tried to soothe Chloe by talking to her quietly and had managed to calm her down but she couldn't fall back asleep herself. Her thoughts were wildly running around in her head, thinking about last night and her overall situation. 

She prayed that Justin had finally gotten the message and would leave Chloe alone in the future. Otherwise she would make sure to give him a little reminder.

Beca usually wasn't one for violence but she made an exception when it came to people she cared about. She had fought for Jesse and she would fight for Chloe. The redhead had managed to gain a place in Beca's heart and once you were in there, nothing could be done to remove you. Beca didn't have many people she genuinely cared about but Chloe had managed to sneak her way into Beca's heart. 

The brunette wasn't sure she liked that since she had tried to stay distant to avoid sorrow in the future but she couldn't do anything about it now.

A short knock on the door alerted her to the fact that it was apparently the next morning.

“Chloe, sweetie, are you awake?” a soft female voice asked before opening the door a little.

Neither Chloe nor Beca had closed the blinds last night so it was already pretty bright in the room.

Claire was about to turn around as soon as she saw that her daughter was still sleeping when she saw Beca on the ground.

“Beca? What are you doing here? And are that the clothes you wore to the party last night?” she asked quietly.

Damn it, Beca thought and slowly stood up. She didn't want to wake up Chloe so she made her way out of the room quietly and closed the door behind her.

Claire had a big smile on her face. “I am so glad that you two are getting along so well. But why did you sleep on the floor? We have mattresses. Chloe knows where they are, she should have given one to you.”

Beca didn't really know what to say but shook her head. “No, it's okay. We were talking and fell asleep. I forgot to change out of my clothes. I could have gone to my room when I woke up but I was thinking. I've slept on floors before, it isn't as bad as it sounds.”

Claire smile quickly vanished and her eyebrows furrowed. “You slept on the floor before? Why?”

“Um....” The brunette didn't plan on revealing that little detail to Claire but if it meant she would stop asking questions about last night, Beca would have to think about something to say. Might as well be part of the truth. “You know that my former foster homes weren't up to standards. There were some nights where I would be punished. Didn't happen too often, don't worry. It's not so bad, you basically do the same while camping.” 

“I'm sorry Beca, I didn't mean to pry. But the next time, use a mattress or something. I came to wake both of you, I'm making breakfast and Stacie will be here in about an hour for your shopping trip. Will you wake Chloe for me?”

Beca gulped. Oh no, she had totally forgotten about that shopping trip. She hastily plastered a fake smile on her face and assured Claire that she would wake Chloe and that both of them would be down for breakfast soon.

Claire thanked Beca and went downstairs again. 

Shoving any thoughts about shopping trips and what those shopping trips entailed into the back of her mind, Beca went back into Chloe's room to wake her up.

She stopped next to Chloe's bed and quietly said her name. “Chloe, wake up.”

The redhead didn't move a muscle.

Beca tried again, this time a little louder. “Chloe, wake up. Your mom made us breakfast and Stacie will be here in an hour.”

Chloe moved a little but didn't wake up. Beca sighed and carefully shook the other girl's shoulder. She had wanted to avoid that for both of their sakes but if Chloe wouldn't wake up, there was nothing she could do.

Chloe's eyes opened suddenly as she felt Beca's hand on her shoulder and she was awake instantly. “Wha..?”

Beca quickly removed her hand and took a step back. “It's just me. Your mom asked me to wake you up. She's making breakfast and Stacie will be here in less than an hour.”

The redhead was a little confused but quickly became more alert. “Oh. Good morning.”

“Morning.”

Chloe slowly moved out of the bed until she stood in front of Beca. When she saw the blanket still lying on the ground where Beca had spent most hours of last night, all the events of last nights party rushed back into her mind.

“Oh. Did you stay the whole night?”

Beca couldn't quite read Chloe's mood and only nodded. 

“Thank you. It was probably pretty uncomfortable. I won't make you sleep here again, I'm sorry. Are you okay? I didn't scare you off, right?”

Beca couldn't help a snort from escaping. “Am I okay? The better question is, are you okay?”

Chloe just shrugged. “I guess. As I said last night, nothing really happened. I will get over it.”

Not wanting to be a hypocrite but still trying to make sure that the other girl was alright, Beca spoke up again. “Are you sure about that? You can't just forget what happened.”

Chloe straightened her back and glared at Beca. “Watch me. Look, I'm really thankful that you saved me last night and stayed with me but can we maybe forget that this even happened? Please don't tell anyone. All will be forgotten in a few weeks.”

Beca watched Chloe sceptically but didn't want to overstep any boundaries. “I'm not sure that this is the best plan here but I'll go along with it. I won't say anything. But if you ever want to talk, I'm here, okay?”

Chloe sent her a small thankful smile. “Thanks. I'll get dressed and then we'll meet downstairs? I'm sure Stacie will be here in a few minutes, she's always early.”

Beca's shoulders slumped. “Do we really have to go shopping?”

Chloe grinned. Beca had been complaining ever since they made the plan to go shopping but Chloe wouldn't budge. “We have to. Now go and get dressed.”

Beca sighed unhappily and turned around to her own room to get dressed. 

Once she arrived there, she choose to wear as much layers as she could. Shopping meant clothes and clothes meant changing rooms. She was absolutely sure that Stacie and Chloe would make her try something on so she prepared herself as much as possible by wearing her leather jacket over a hoody with a long-sleeved shirt and a tank top underneath after a quick shower. It was pretty warm but Beca was used to that. She had been wearing layers for a long time now.

Beca was starting to feel comfortable in this house and that was a mistake. It had always been a mistake to feel a fake sense of security. She was pretty sure that the Beales had never laid a hand on Chloe but that didn't mean they wouldn't start something as soon as Beca relaxed enough to make some kind of mistake. She had let her guard down last night for Chloe's sake but she wouldn't continue doing so. So she steeled herself and went downstairs after grabbing her bag from last night.

Beca was greeted by the sight of Claire and Stacie talking while drinking a cup of coffee and Andrew reading the newspaper. 

She slowly made her way to 'her' seat at the table and poured herself a cup of coffee. 

Stacie quickly noticed her and sent her a bright smile. “Good morning Beca! Are you excited about our little trip today?”

“Can't wait.” Beca mumbled into her coffee cup, not looking at the other girl.

“Are you still tired? You went home early last night and your mom told me she has just woken you up. You must have gotten enough sleep, is everything alright?”

“Um... yeah. Fine. I didn't sleep that well, don't worry.”

Stacie wasn't convinced. “If you say so. What about Chloe? Why did she go with you?”

Beca looked up and glared at Stacie. Not maliciously but she was getting annoyed with the questions. Where was Chloe? She should help her fending of the questions, damn it. “She was tired as well.”

“Uh huh. Right. I'll get it out of you eventually.”

Beca was about to answer when Chloe came downstairs with a big smile on her face.

“Good morning! You are pretty early Stace, couldn't sleep or something?”

Stacie grinned. “Oh, I slept very well. At least the few hours I got. I didn't leave the party early.”

Chloe sat down next to Beca and her dad and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Yeah, sorry, tired. So, what do we have planned for today?”

“You know, I thought we could head to the mall and spent a few hours there, get some lunch and after that maybe a movie? We'll see, I'm open to anything.”

“That's okay with me. What about you Beca?”

“Hm.”

“Oh, before I forget. This is for you Beca, buy yourself some new clothes, you really don't have enough.” Claire said as she handed Beca a few dollar bills. Which turned out to be about 500 dollars.

Beca's eyes widened. “No! I don't need any money, I'm fine. I've got enough clothes, don't worry. Please keep your money.” She quickly gave the money back to Claire and busied her hands with her cup, not wanting the older woman to give the money back to her.

“Don't be ridiculous, we're happy to give this to you. You really need some clothes and since I'm sure you won't like what I would pick out if I were to buy you clothes, I thought you could just chose stuff for yourself. You won't get out of it, I already talked to Chloe. She has strict orders to at least buy you a couple pairs of jeans and a few shirts. And a jacket. You are lucky that it isn't that cold this winter but it probably won't stay this warm for long.” Claire said and gave the money to Chloe who grinned at Beca as she put the money into her wallet. 

“I really don't need clothes. Please keep it.” Beca was getting desperate. She had been in this kind of situation before and it hadn't ended well for her. Steven West had liked to make fun of her as often as he could, using cruel punishments as incentive so she would always stay on her guard around him. He and his wife had been nice at first but shortly after her social workers visit's grew further apart, they completely changed and treated her like a slave. But before that, they had also given her money to buy some clothes and when she happily took the money and bought some stuff (It was only a hundred dollars), they screamed at her for wasting their money and told her, she had to work to pay them back the money she had wasted. This started her cleaning, cooking and repair duties. They had started hitting her and shoving her against walls then when she was in the way. It wasn't that bad at first but Beca always thought that this event started everything in the West's home. 

So she really didn't want the money. “No, really, I'm fine, please don't waste your money on me.”

Andrew and Claire looked at her contemplatively. Chloe and Stacie just watched in confusion. Andrew chose to ask the obvious question. “Is there a reason you don't want to take our money, Beca? We are happy to give it to you.”

“I don't need more stuff. Please keep the money. I was thinking about getting a job anyway, so I could buy some necessary stuff. You don't have to give me anything. I'm grateful that I can stay here but that doesn't mean you have to buy me things. I'm fine.”

“Why do you want to get a job? If you want something, all you have to do is ask.” Claire told Beca, not really sure why the brunette girl didn't want their money. 

Beca shook her head. “No. I'm not some charity case, I can get the stuff I need on my own. Thanks for offering, but I have a few dollars on me. If it means so much to you, I will buy a jacket, okay?”

Claire sighed deeply and after sending a meaningful look in her daughter's direction, agreed with Beca. “Okay. But I hope you will feel comfortable to take things from us soon. We really don't mind.”

Beca just shrugged and finished her cup of coffee.

Chloe and Stacie looked at each other confusedly, but decided it would be best to head out as soon as possible. 

“So, I borrowed Aubrey's car so we can drive to the mall. Shall we go?”

Beca quickly nodded, rinsed her coffee cup in the sink, dried it and placed it in the cupboard before Chloe had time to even stand up from the kitchen table.

“Well, it seems we are in a hurry. See you later mom and dad.” Chloe told her parents and the three girls made their way out of the house.

Stacie, being the nosy one, decided to ask the obvious question once she started Aubrey's car and drove in the direction of the mall. “What was that?”

Beca only looked out of the window.

Chloe turned around to look at Beca, who was sitting in the backseat behind Stacie who was driving. “What's up with you? You've started talking more around us and now you are back to the silent treatment? Did we do something?”

Beca shook her head. “No. I'm just not in the mood for talking right now.”

Chloe sighed. “Okay. We can't force you I guess. So, Stacie, how did you manage to convince Bree to let us borrow the car?”

Stacie laughed. “Oh, it was quite easy. She wanted to use this weekend to get some studying done and when I asked her if she wanted to come she said no. So I told her that we needed her car to get there and if I could borrow it. She said no as well but when I told her how I would spent the whole weekend pestering her while she tried to study she gave up pretty quickly. Not without some threats of bodily harm if I got so much as a scratch on the car but she agreed eventually.”

Chloe grinned. “Cool. I didn't expect her to give up so easily.”

“Oh, she wouldn't dare. I've done it before, the pestering. I'm pretty good at it. She got a B+ because of it. She didn't talk to me for two days after that.”

The redhead furrowed her brows. “When was that? And how come I don't know about that?”

Stacie shrugged. “I think it was just after you got together with Tom. You were pretty busy with him. I think we just forgot telling you about it. She forgave me eventually, so it doesn't matter.”

Chloe's eyes widened. “What? Don't tell me I was one of those girls? That forget about their friends as soon as they get a boyfriend?”

The tall brunette chuckled. “It was only for about two weeks. Don't worry, Bree and I already had a plan to get you to pay attentions to us again. But we didn't have to use it, you went back to your old self pretty quickly.”

“How come you haven't said anything? And how come I haven't noticed that? It should be pretty obvious.”

“We didn't want to annoy you. You were happy with him at first. We didn't want to stay in the way. I don't know how you didn't notice though. Don't worry about it. We'll be there in a few minutes, do you know what you want to buy?”

“I still don't get how I couldn't have noticed such behavior. Well, it's in the past I guess. But please tell me if something like that is happening again. I don't want to be one of those girls.”

Stacie grinned. “No problem.”

They arrived in the parking lot a few minutes later and got out of the car.

“Well, let's go inside girls!” Stacie cheered and grabbed Chloe's hand to pull her in the direction of the entrance. She had tried to do the same to Beca but the small brunette had skillfully evaded the other girl's hand by adjusting her pony tail.

“Where to first?” Chloe asked as soon as they entered the mall through the front doors.

“Clothes!” Stacie exclaimed and made her way to the closest clothing store.

Beca sighed deeply and followed the other two girls slowly. She didn't like shopping. At all.

When she arrived in the store she saw that Stacie had already found some stuff she wanted to try on. She ignored both girls for the moment and went to the sunglasses rack. One couldn't do wrong with looking at sunglasses. The other girls would assume she had found something interesting to look at and would leave her alone. Hopefully at least. That tactic had worked before.

Bot not today apparently.

“Beca!”

The small brunette turned around and saw both girls looking in her direction. 

Not wanting to shout and not really wanting to go over to them she just mouthed 'What?' at them.

Stacie rolled her eyes. “Come over here! I found something you just have to try on!”

Beca's eyes narrowed. “No way.” she mumbled and turned around to continue pretending to look at the sunglasses.

Stacie chose to give Beca a little more time but only because she wanted to try some stuff on herself. She would get Beca into some of those shirts as soon as she had finished trying some stuff on.

“Come on Chloe. We'll get her to try some stuff on later. I'll try these on and you'll tell me if I look fat in them, okay?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You don't look fat in anything Stacie. You have the perfect body and you know it.”

Stacie winked. “Well, it can't hurt to hear it more often.”

“Yeah, yeah, go and change. I'll wait in front of the curtain.”

Stacie grinned and moved into one of the changing stalls.

“Chlo?”

“What is it? Do you need help with the zipper or something?”

“No. I just wanted to ask if everything was alright?”

“Of course, why wouldn't it be?”

“I don't know. You are acting a little strange. Beca too by the way. And I'm sure you're not telling me everything about last night.”

Damn it, Chloe thought. “I told you, we were tired. Everything is fine. And I told you everything about yesterday. I went outside to look for Beca, found her, we talked for a bit, found out that we were both pretty tired and then called a cab to take us home.”

“Why didn't you say goodbye to us? And if you had asked Bree, I'm sure she would have taken you two home. Or even Jesse.”

“I just didn't think about that. I was pretty tired.”

“I don't believe you. But I'll let it be for now because I don't want to ruin this day. But we'll be talking about this again.”

Chloe was growing frustrated. “Everything is fine! We don't have to talk about anything!”

Stacie opened the curtain to the changing stalls and looked at Chloe unimpressed. “Right. Thanks for that reaction, now I'm definitely talking to you about this again. So, what do you think about this blouse?”

Chloe was a little annoyed at herself for acting so out of character but pushed it to the back of her mind. Stacie said she wouldn't say anything today. She would have to think about something to say to her later today. 

“It looks good on you Stacie. I like the simple style of it. Green is a good color on you.”

Stacie beamed at Chloe. “Thanks. Yeah, I like it. But I do have a lot of blouses like this. I'm not sure I need another.”

The redhead rolled her eyes. “Since when do you go shopping for something you need? You always buy things you want because you already have everything you could possibly need.”

“True. But I'll try the other stuff on and then decide.”

“Good idea.” Chloe told her and checked her phone for any new messages. There weren't any so she decided to look around the store a little. She didn't see anything interesting until she saw Beca by the sunglasses rack. It didn't look like she was looking at any of them, she was just standing there and looking at the people walking through the mall. 

She didn't really know what to think about Beca. She had thought they were getting along after their rocky start but after they had woken up this morning Beca had shut her out again. She was so thoughtful last night and Chloe really had a lot of fun when they spent their evenings in the basement mixing music. She didn't know what had changed but she resolved herself to ask her once they got back home.

Fifteen minutes later Stacie was finished in this store and made her way over to where Beca was standing. 

“Hey, did you find a pair you like?”

Beca jumped a little as she heard Stacie's voice next to her.

“Oh, it''s you. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. No, I was just looking. Are you finished here?”

Stacie nodded. “I am, but you aren't. I found this really cute shirt and I think it would look really good on you. Why don't you try it on? You don't have to buy it but I want to see how it looks on you.”

“No. I'm really not a fan of fashion.”

“You don't have to be. Now come on.” Stacie said and pulled Beca in the direction of the changing stalls were Chloe was still standing. 

“Stacie, no. I really don't want to try anything on.” Beca tried to pull her arm out of the grip of the other girl but Stacie wasn't letting her go that easily.

“You haven't even seen it.”

“I don't need to.” Beca grumbled.

Stacie grabbed the shirt from Chloe's arms when they arrived at the changing stalls and showed it to Beca. It was a long sleeved black shirt with some nice buttons in the front.

“This doesn't look so bad, does it? It's even in black, you like black, don't you? Just try it on please.”

Beca sighed. The shirt really looked pretty nice. And it had long sleeves, so her arms won't be exposed.

“If I try this on, will you leave me alone for the rest of the day?”

Stacie nodded. “Yeah, I promise.”

“Okay.” Beca's shoulder's slumped as she grabbed the shirt from Stacie and moved into the changing stall. 

Beca closed the curtains firmly and put her bag on a chair that stood next to the mirror in the corner of the changing stall. She removed her leather jacket, hoody and shirt before snatching the shirt Stacie had given her. She had already one arm in the shirt when she noticed that her tank top had ridden up and her scar from the broken bottle was visible. She hated looking at all of her scars and tried to pull her tank top down quickly. She took a step backwards and brushed against the chair which made all of her stuff fall to the ground with a loud thud.

“Beca? Is everything okay?”

Beca's eyes widened as she heard Chloe's voice. She tried to put the black shirt on quickly but she had somehow tangled her arm in the shirt. She watched with growing horror as the curtain was pulled to the side a little and Chloe's head peeked through the opening.

“Do you need help?”

Chloe looked at the panicked look on Beca's face and furrowed her brow. What was going on with her? That was when she took a closer look at the brunette and saw the scar on Beca's side.

“Beca? What is that?” she asked quietly, hoping that it wasn't what it looked like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I finally found the time to finish this chapter. Sorry for the long wait guys, I had tons of stuff to do. Anyway, thanks for the continued support and if you liked this chapter, please leave a little comment to let me know :)


	11. Chapter 11

“Beca?”

The brunette stood frozen in place and looked at Chloe with wide, panicked eyes.

It didn’t look like Beca would answer any time soon, so the redhead decided to go into the changing stall and closed the curtain behind her firmly.

“Beca? Are you okay?”

When she didn’t get an answer again, she moved to touch Beca’s arm that was still hopelessly tangled in the black shirt.

As soon as Chloe’s hand made contact, Beca flinched away violently and holed herself up in the corner of the changing stall. Since the room was barely big enough to fit both girls, the distance increased by Beca’s movement wasn’t much, only a few inches. She whispered something under her breath that Chloe couldn’t understand.

“What? Can you repeat that please Beca?”

“Go!” Came out louder this time and the shocked look in the brunette’s eyes had turned into anger as she leveled Chloe with a scathing glare.

“Beca…” Chloe tried again but the smaller girl wouldn’t listen.

“Go away Chloe!” she shouted loudly and quickly ripped the black shirt from her body. It luckily didn’t rip and Beca put her own clothes back on as fast as possible.

Since the redhead didn’t seem to want to go, Beca decided to be the one to leave. She grabbed her stuff and ran out of the changing stall. She ran past Stacie who was looking at her with a confused expression on her face.

As soon as Beca had left the store, Stacie turned her confused eyes to the redhead who was still standing in the changing booth.

“Chloe? What’s going on? Did you do something?”

Chloe shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I need to talk to her as soon as possible. Can we maybe meet up later at the pizza place? I think I should go and talk to her alone.”

Stacie nodded understandingly. “We’ll meet up at the pizza place in an hour. If you’re not there, I’m coming after you.”

The redhead rolled her eyes. “You do that. See you later Stace.”

Chloe grabbed her own bag and went after Beca, leaving Stacie alone in the store.

“Well then…” Stacie said to herself and grabbed a few clothes and went to the register to pay for them.

 

Chloe ran out of the store and looked left and right, frantically trying to find a glimpse of the brunette.

She saw someone that could be Beca running around a corner and immediately chased after her.

After rounding the corner, she was a hundred percent sure that the person she was chasing was Beca.

“Beca! Wait!” she shouted after the other girl but that only made the brunette run faster. The girls shot out of the mall and were now running in the parking lot.

 _Damn, she’s fast_ , Chloe thought as she tried to catch up to Beca.

The redhead was about to give up and give Beca some space until she calmed down when she saw a car coming from the left.

“Beca! Watch out!” she shouted but it was too late.

Beca crashed into the car and the brunette rolled over the hood of the car. She fell down on the other side and remained laying still on the ground.

Terrified that Beca had gotten seriously injured, even if the car was driving very slowly, apparently searching for a free spot, Chloe sprinted over to Beca and was there only seconds after the crash.

“Beca? Can you hear me?”

Beca groaned and turned from her side to her back until she could look at Chloe with dim blue eyes.

“Beca?” Chloe tried again, carefully touching the other girl’s shoulder to try and get her attention.

“Yeah.” Beca said softly and tried to sit up. Chloe immediately helped her by putting an arm around her shoulders. Knowing that Beca didn’t like to be touched and having ignored that fact a lot today, the redhead let go of Beca quickly when she was sitting upright.

“Is she okay?” a young man, who looked to be around 25 with short black hair and bright green eyes asked.

Chloe looked at him accusingly. “Why weren’t you watching where you were going? You could have killed her.”

The guy looked at both girls apologetically. “I’m so sorry. I was looking for a free spot and didn’t see her. But I swear I was paying attention, she was just suddenly there.”

“Chloe.”

The redhead’s attention quickly turned back to the small brunette who was still sitting on the ground.

“Are you okay, Beca? Where does it hurt?”

Beca took stock of herself and the only thing that hurt more than normal bruises was her head.

“I’m fine, I think. I’ll probably get some nice looking bruises but otherwise I’m fine. It wasn’t his fault. I wasn’t looking where I was running. Let’s just get out of here, okay?”

Chloe looked at Beca skeptically but nodded nonetheless. She had pushed the brunette a little too far for one day. And it wasn’t even noon yet.

The taller girl and the guy helped Beca to her feet, much to her annoyance but quickly let her go as they saw the scowl on her face.

Beca tried to take a step to increase the distance to Chloe and the guy but quickly discovered that it was a bad idea. Everything went blurry in front of her eyes and she was getting nauseous. She held her hands in front of her to catch herself in case she fell and muttered a small “Woah…” under her breath.

Not even a second after that, the redhead was by her side, gripping her arm tightly in support.

“You are not okay Beca. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

The guy didn’t really know what to do but offered his assistance in getting to the hospital. Chloe thanked him but declined.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll call my friend and she will drive us there. Be more careful next time.”

“But it was an accident. Shouldn’t we call the police?”

Beca decided to interrupt the two of them then, already feeling a little better.

“There is no need for the police. I wasn’t looking where I was going and I’m fine. You can go.”

The green eyed guy hesitated for a moment but nodded eventually and got back into his car.

Chloe and Beca moved to the side so the guy could drive away slowly.

The taller girl looked at Beca then. “Let’s get you to a hospital. I’ll call Stacie, she’ll be here in a minute.”

“No Chloe, I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

Chloe scoffed. “Bullshit. We at least have to get you checked out for a concussion. It looked like you hit your head pretty hard.”

Beca continued to protest. “No Chloe, I’m fine.” She moved her hand through her hair, trying to find the spot that was itching terribly. When she encountered something wet under her hair, she quickly removed her hand from her head and crossed both hands behind her back.

“Beca, you could be seriously hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Beca rolled her eyes but quickly stopped that movement when it made pain explode behind her eyes.

Okay, no rolling of the eyes for today, Beca thought.

The redhead was still looking at her skeptically but when she couldn’t find anything that was wrong on the outside, she tentatively agreed.

“Okay. But if you even stumble over your own feet, you’ll be in the hospital before you know what happened.”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Beca said nothing. She started walking back into the mall.

Chloe followed, unsure if she should ask Beca about what happened in the store earlier.

Deciding to leave that conversation for later, Chloe started talking about school and her friends.

Beca only listened with one ear, her head was hurting badly and she only wanted to lay down and close her eyes for a moment.

“Beca?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you hungry yet? I told Stacie to wait for us at the pizza place.”

Beca shook her head carefully. “Not really. But we can go if you’re hungry. But I need to go to the bathroom first.”

Even if she were hungry, she doubted she would manage to keep anything down. The nausea hadn’t gone away completely yet. And she really wanted to check out her head. Something was definitely going on.

“Okay. There is a restroom at the pizza place, we’ll be there in 5 minutes. That okay?”

“Yeah.”

They made their way over to the pizza place quickly and they saw that Stacie was already waiting for them. Chloe went over to her and Beca went directly to the bathroom that was signposted.

Beca opened the door to the restroom and was happy to find that she was alone. She looked in the mirror and flinched. She looked terrible. Not as bad as after one of her former foster father’s ‘sessions’ but bad enough. She had dark circles under her eyes (that were there most of the time but they haven’t been this pronounced over the last week), there was some dirt on the side of her face from the parking lot and her jacket had scruff marks all over it. Her hair looked disheveled and her jeans were ripped at the right knee.

 _Great_ , she thought. _I need to buy some new jeans._

The small brunette started by washing her hands and her face. She patted her jacket, trying to get rid of the dirt. When she did everything she could for her clothes she turned her eyes back to the mirror and looked at her hair.

_Well, then…_

She ran her hands slowly through her hair and tried to untangle the strands. It was going well until she encountered something wet that made her hair stick together.

She pulled her hand back and saw blood on the tips of her fingers.

_Damn it…_

She took a piece of paper, held it under the water for a moment and carefully dabbed the back of her head. The piece of paper came back stained with red. She repeated the action a few times until she was reasonably satisfied with the outcome.

Beca looked in the mirror again and turned her head from left to right. She saw that her hair looked a little wet at the back of her head but it was only noticeable if you paid attention to it. She hoped that Chloe would be distracted by Stacie until her hair was dry again.

She looked at her watch and noticed that she had been gone for over five minutes and quickly made her way out of the bathroom.

Chloe and Stacie were sitting in a booth, quietly talking to each other. When Stacie saw Beca approaching, she immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit next to her.

“Oh my god, Beca! Are you alright? You were hit by a car?!”

The small brunette carefully extracted her hand from Stacie’s and increased the distance to the other girl before answering.

“I’m fine. Just a few bruises.”

“Are you sure? Chloe said you hit your head pretty hard. Let me take a look.” Before Beca could comprehend what Stacie had said, the taller girl was already moving to take a look at Beca’s head.

“What’s that?”

Beca squirmed in her seat and turned her head so Stacie would only be able to see her face. “What?”

“There is a dark spot in your hair.”

“It’s nothing. The pipes in the bathroom were pretty strong. The water splashed.”

“To the back of your head? Your clothes look dry.”

Beca was getting annoyed. “Yes! Now can you leave me alone? Didn’t you guys want to eat Pizza?” She put her hands down on the table after gesticulating with them for a minute to get her annoyance across.

Her hands hadn’t been on the table for a second until Chloe grabbed her arm and pushed her sleeve up a few centimeters.

“That’s blood! Beca! You’re hurt. Come on Stacie, we’re taking her to the hospital.”

Beca looked at her wrist and noticed a few dried spots of blood. She must have gotten them when she was cleaning her head earlier.

“I’m fine Chloe! Really, it’s just a bump. Let it go, okay?!”

Chloe was looking at her sternly. “No. You have been in an accident and are injured. We’re taking you to the hospital to get checked out. You don’t have a choice, now come on.”

Stacie was looking at her the same way Chloe was and Beca knew that she didn’t stand a chance of getting out of this.

“Fine! But I will be protesting the whole way over there. Just so you know.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Come on, let’s go.”

Beca was cursing under her breath but followed after Chloe and Stacie anyway.

Despite Beca’s announcement of protesting loudly, the drive to the hospital was spent in silence.

Beca’s head was hurting and she wasn’t in the mood for loud noises. She closed her eyes and only wanted to sleep but before she could drift off, Chloe or Stacie would wake her back up again, claiming she could have a concussion and those people weren’t allowed to fall asleep or something.

Beca glared at both of them each time this happened.

They arrived at the hospital after a fifteen minute drive and walked up to the reception desk.

“Um, excuse me?”

The woman behind the desk looked to be around 55, wore some big rimmed glasses and her hair was about shoulder length and fell down in soft waves. She was smiling at the girls.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

Chloe continued. “Yes, thank you. My friend here was hit by a car and hit her head pretty hard. We just want her to get checked out in case anything is wrong.”

“Oh dear, is that so? What’s your name sweetie?” She was looking at Beca now, patiently waiting for an answer.

“Beca Mitchell.”

The woman typed on her computer for a few seconds until she found something.

“Oh. A Miss Marie Reynolds left a note to call her if you ever came here. She said she was your social worker. Is that true?”

Beca’s eyes widened. “Yes, but you really don’t have to call her. I’m fine, these two are exaggerating.”

The brunette was trying to leave but Stacie and Chloe stood in her way.

“Beca, you have to get checked out. It could be serious. You were bleeding.”

Tired of protesting any more, Beca just nodded slowly and took the paper work the woman at the reception desk gave her to fill out.

The three girls took some seats in the waiting room and Beca quickly filled out the required forms. She was finished about 10 minutes later and gave them back to the reception lady. She told her to call her Mrs. Robbins and told Beca that Marie was on her way. The doctor would call her when he was ready.

Too tired to care anymore, the small brunette just nodded and went back to the waiting room.

The doctor came to the waiting room about 15 minutes later and collected Beca. He looked to be in his fifties with short black hair that was starting to get gray at his temples. He had kind blue eyes and Chloe and Stacie liked him instantly. Beca wasn’t so sure about that but decided to give him a chance if he could just make this headache stop.

Chloe and Stacie remained in the waiting room, quietly talking between themselves until Marie walked quickly into the reception area. Before she could ask Mrs. Robbins where Beca was, Chloe had already called her name.

“Marie! You came really quickly.”

Marie turned around and saw Chloe and an unknown brunette looking at her. She made her way over to them and sat down next to Chloe.

“Hello Chloe. Where is Beca?”

Chloe sighed. “She’s with the doctor at the moment. It’s been about 15 minutes.”

Marie nodded. “Okay. What happened?”

Chloe quickly retold the story of Beca’s accident, only leaving out the reason why Beca was running in the first place.

“So you think she might have a concussion again?”

Chloe furrowed her brows. “Again?”

Marie ignored her and asked the next relevant question. “So why was she running away? I talked to her yesterday and she said everything was going well at home. What do you think?”

Picking up on the sort of question Marie was asking, Chloe wanted to get angry but decided that an honest answer would be better. “I think everything is okay at home. She is still quiet but as far as I know, school is going well and we’re spending a lot of time together at home making mixes. I think she likes my mom but is still wary about my dad. I know that she isn’t sleeping as well as she should but otherwise I think that everything is working itself out. It’s only been a week, you’ll have to give us all a little more time to get used to our new living situation.”

Marie sighed. “I’m sorry Chloe, I didn’t want to imply anything but I have to ask these questions. Thanks for your honest opinion. Now, do you want to tell me why Beca ran away from you?”

Chloe looked worried all of the sudden and turned around to look at Stacie. “Um, Stace, do you mind giving us some space? I don’t want to invade Beca’s privacy any more than I already did.”

Stacie nodded understandingly. “Sure, I’m going to get a coffee. Do you two want one as well?”

Marie and Chloe nodded at Stacie’s offer and the tall brunette left them alone after that.

Marie turned to look at Chloe with expectant eyes. “So?”

Chloe sighed deeply. “Yeah. Well, we were shopping at the mall today. And I knew that Beca didn’t like trying on clothes or shopping in general but she has so few clothes, mom told me to watch her a little and get her some stuff. She didn’t accept the money my parents tried to give her this morning for some clothes so my mom asked me to get her some stuff while we were shopping. So I persuaded her to try on one shirt by promising her that it would be the only one. I fully intended to keep that promise by the way. I don’t like to see her uncomfortable.”

Marie nodded, having expected something similar when she heard that the girls went shopping.

“So she went into the changing stall to try the shirt on. I didn’t want to invade her privacy but she was taking a lot of time so I asked her if everything was okay. When she didn’t answer, I got worried and wanted to check up on her. So I glimpsed into the changing booth, asking her if she needed help. That’s when I saw that her tank top had ridden up a bit while she was trying to get the shirt on that somehow got tangled in her arms.”

“Oh.” Marie said. She could imagine what the younger girl saw if the sad look on her face was any indication.

“That’s when I saw that big scar on the side of her stomach and asked her what it was or where it came from. I don’t really remember what I asked exactly, I was just so shocked. She didn’t answer me again so I did the wrong thing and went into the changing room. She told me to go but I didn’t because I wanted to know where she got the scar. I know that I was nosy, but I couldn’t help myself. That’s when she put on her own clothes and ran out of the store. I followed after her, trying to apologize when she crashed into the car.”

Marie sighed deeply. “Oh Chloe, that really wasn’t the best thing to do. You shouldn’t force her into a corner when she doesn’t want to talk. Jesse told me that never works and I’m starting to find that one out for myself. You have to understand that Beca has had a very hard life. I won’t tell you any details but some part of that hard life shows on her body. That’s why she won’t show it to anyone. She’s been hurt terribly and I hope that staying with your family will maybe help her get better. She is such an intelligent and nice girl, it’s not fair the way life has been treating her. Please mind her boundaries and let her come to you. I think you two could be very good friends. But if you force her, it won’t work.”

Chloe looked down at her hands with a sad expression on her face. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again but I was just worried about her. I don’t want anybody to hurt her, especially after last night.”

Marie rose an eyebrow in question. “Last night?”

The redhead closed her mouth firmly, not believing she let that slip. “Um, nothing.”

Marie took Chloe’s hands, that were lying in the redhead’s lap, into her own and squeezed them gently.

“You can talk to me if you want Chloe. I know I’m a stranger but maybe that is what you need? I won’t judge, I promise.”

Chloe had been repressing the memories from last night this whole morning and had noticed that it had been getting harder by the minute. She wasn’t the type of person to ignore things that were bothering her and burying her feelings didn’t work long for her either. So when she saw the open and honest expression on the other woman's face, she burst into tears and told Marie everything that had happened last night. From the fun beginning of the party to the way Beca helped her home and even stayed in her room.

Marie hugged the young redhead tightly as she told her the story with the occasional sob and sniff.

When Chloe had been quiet for a few minutes, Marie let go of her but took her hands back into her own.

“I’m sorry this happened to you Chloe. Have you talked to the police?”

Chloe shook her head. “No. Beca asked me if I wanted to and I wasn’t sure. When she told me we would have had to go last night, I was just too tired and only wanted a shower. I’ve been telling myself that nothing really happened but it is affecting me and I don’t know what to do.”

“What he did was illegal. You can report him. He is still a minor but he won’t go without punishment. It’s not too late to go to the police. I can go with you if you want.”

Chloe thought about it for a minute but decided to let it go. “No. I don’t want it to get out. But if he will try anything like that again on me or anyone else for that matter, I will report him. But thanks for the offer, I’m really grateful. And thanks for listening to me. I think I needed that. I talked to Beca a little but it didn’t really help since she was there.”

“No problem Chloe. You can call me anytime, I’m happy to help.”

Chloe smiled at Marie gratefully and the two of them sat in silence for a few minutes until Stacie poked her head around the corner, trying to see if she could come back.

The redhead grinned at her and motioned for her to come back.

“Thank god! I’ve been standing behind that corner for the last 5 minutes. But I didn’t want to interrupt you, it seemed important. Here is your coffee.” Stacie gave Chloe and Marie their coffees and all three women spent a minute in silence, savoring their beverages.

“Chloe?”

“Hmm?”

“Were you crying?”

“Um, kinda. But I already feel better, Marie helped me a lot.”

“You know you can come to me with anything, right?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. But this was different. I’ll tell you someday.”

Stacie wasn’t happy with that but let it go since Beca chose that time to get back out of the doctor’s office.

All three women stood up and rushed over to Beca and her doctor.

The tall doctor looked at Marie. “Hello, my name is Dr. Beyer. Are you Miss Reynolds? Her social worker?”

Marie nodded. “Yes. Is she okay?”

“Well, she has a concussion. She claims it’s from a car crash but after reading her file I’d like to speak to you in private for a moment.”

Chloe and Stacie looked at each other worriedly while Marie nodded at the doctor and followed him into his office.

“Are you alright Beca?”

Beca shrugged. “Yeah. I’ve got a concussion. He gave me some painkillers and stitched me up. I’m not allowed to do sports for two weeks and I should come back if something feels funny. If I can’t concentrate in school I’m allowed to leave as well. Other than that he recommended a lot of sleep.”

Stacie snorted. “That's your definition of alright?”

Beca shrugged again, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, well, it could be worse.”

Chloe rolled her eyes at Beca's behavior. “Anything else we have to know? Do I have to wake you up every two hours or something like that? That's what they are always doing in the movies.”

Beca shook her head. “No, it's alright. Dr. Beyer said that my concussion isn't that bad. If I don't wake up tomorrow morning though, you should maybe start to worry.”

Chloe scowled. “Don't make jokes about that. I'm seriously worried about you.”

“I'm thinking of getting a sticker that says 'I'm fine' so I won't have to repeat myself so often. Don't worry so much Chloe.”

“Okay okay, but you will tell me if you start feeling weird okay?”

“Weirder than usual?”

“Beca!”

“Yes, yes, I will. Stop being so dramatic.”

Stacie had been watching from the sidelines these past few minutes and enjoyed the other girls banter. She was a little confused though. Chloe portrayed herself as a very open person but there were only very few people she really opened up to. Aubrey and herself belonged to those people and if she hadn't been seeing things, Beca did too. This puzzled Stacie a little since she was almost sure that the two of them had only met a week ago. That was pretty fast for Chloe to get this comfortable with someone. She decided to think about this a little more later and maybe talk to Bree about it. There was also the thing that Chloe had been crying about earlier. A phone call to her blonde best friend was definitely in order. But until she was home she decided to 'sit back' and enjoy Beca's and Chloe's banter.

Marie and Dr. Beyer came out of the office five minutes later and the Dr. said goodbye to the girls.

Marie turned to look at Stacie. “So, how about I take Beca and Chloe home? I have to talk to Claire and Andrew anyway so you don't have to drive out of your way to drive them home. I'll stop on the way and get Beca's pain killers from the pharmacy.”

Stacie shrugged. “That's fine with me. Chloe?”

“Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I'm sorry that our trip had to be cut short. We'll have to go again some other time.”

Stacie nodded and hugged Chloe tightly. “No problem. We will. See you Monday.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, thanks Stace.”

“Get better soon Beca. It was nice meeting you Marie.”

Beca nodded at Stacie while Marie said goodbye.

With one last wave over her shoulder, Stacie was on her way to the parking lot.

“Let's go girls. You're probably pretty tired Beca, right? Let's get you into bed.”

Beca only nodded tiredly as she and Chloe followed Marie out of the hospital and into her car.

Beca decided to sit in the backseat and Chloe quickly joined her. Marie raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment on it.

She started driving the short drive to the pharmacy. They arrived five minutes later and Marie left the girls alone for a minute to get Beca's prescription from the store.

Chloe used that opportunity to speak to the small brunette and apologize.

“Beca? Are you awake?”

“Hm?”

“I just wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier in the changing stall. I was nosy and I should have respected your privacy. Don't worry I won't bring it up again but if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. Sorry again, I feel like this accident was my fault. If you hadn't been running away from me...”

Beca put one of her hands on Chloe's and interrupted her. “Stop Chloe. It was an accident and not your fault. I'll be fine in a few days. And the other thing, I'm sorry for running away too. But you have to understand that I can't talk about some things and when I am confronted with them and not ready, running is my go to response. So I'm sorry too, for running away. I can't talk about this now but maybe some day. No promises though.”

Chloe took a deep relieved breath. “Thanks. And I won't bother you anymore, I promise. Let's just get home and get some sleep yeah? I haven't slept that well last night either.”

Beca just smiled sadly. “Yes, I noticed. Let's go home.”

Home... that sounded better than Beca had ever expected. Especially now that the Beale house was starting to feel like one. The small brunette turned around and buried her head into her jacket, finally succumbing to the call of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks again for the support guys, I really appreciate it. Beca's past and her scars will come up again later, don't worry. If you liked the chapter, please leave a little comment to let me know :)


	12. Chapter 12

“Beca?”

“Hm?”

“We’re here. Do you want to got to bed? I could carry you but I thought it would be better if I asked first.”

That woke the brunette right up. “No no, I’m fine. I’m just going to bed, okay?”

Marie nodded and watched as Beca hurried to the front door and immediately climbed the stairs.

The older woman looked at Chloe. “Well then. Are your parents home Chloe?”

Chloe shrugged. “They should be. Let’s go inside and see.”

Marie started walking but Chloe stopped her with a hand on the other woman’s arm.

“Um, Marie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we maybe keep what we talked about earlier between us? I don’t want my parents to worry.”

Marie turned around to look Chloe straight in the eyes. She took both of her hands in hers and squeezed them gently. “I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to Chloe. But I think your parents deserve to know. But it’s your decision. Just know that you can always call me if something is wrong, okay? Or even if you just want to talk. I’ll listen.”

Chloe’s eyes watered for a moment but she managed to contain her tears. That didn’t stop her from jumping into the other woman’s arms though. “Thank you.” She whispered into Marie’s ear and let her go shortly after that.

Marie chuckled. “No problem. Let’s go inside then, okay?”

Chloe nodded and both of them went inside the house.

“Mom?! Dad?!” Chloe shouted after she didn’t find her parents in the kitchen or the living room.

“Chloe?” came the muffled voice of her mother from the basement. “Why are you back already?”

Claire Beale climbed the steps from the basement and looked at her daughter and Marie confusedly.

“Marie, hello. It’s nice to see you again. Is something wrong?”

Marie shook her head and shook Claire’s offered hand in greeting. “I wouldn’t say something was wrong but there has been an accident at the mall today.”

“What? What happened? And where is Beca?”

“Can we go into the living room? And is Andrew home?”

Claire nodded. “Of course. I’ll just go and get Andrew from the garage. Please sit down, you know where everything is.”

“Thank you.”

Claire went outside to get her husband while Marie turned around and looked at Chloe. “You don’t need to be here if you don’t want to. I know that you are tired. Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll fill your parents in about Beca’s accident.”

The redhead was about to protest but was interrupted by a loud yawn that overtook her face. “I guess you’re right. Thank you again.”

Marie smiled gently. “No problem. Now go and get some sleep.”

Chloe nodded gratefully and started climbing the stairs.

When she arrived upstairs she noticed that Beca’s door wasn’t closed completely. Since Beca usually even locked her door the open door caused Chloe to become worried. So she quietly went over to the brunette’s door and peeked her head in.

She saw Beca laying on her bed, once again sleeping on the covers, fully clothed. Chloe was about to turn around and close the door when she noticed that Beca was moving.

“Beca? Are you awake?” she whispered quietly, not wanting to wake the other girl if she was already asleep.

“Hm?”

“Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you but your door was open. Do you need anything?”

The short brunette hesitated for a second, not really knowing if she could ask.

Noticing Beca’s hesitation, Chloe tried again. “What is it? You can ask me anything.”

“Can you get me a glass of water? I would get up myself but I’m so tired.”

Chloe suppressed a surprised laugh and smiled at Beca. “Of course. You don’t even have to ask. I’ll be right back.”

Chloe quickly went to the kitchen and filled the glass with water. She was back at Beca’s side two minutes later. “Here.” She said and gave Beca the glass. She greedily drank half of it and then put it on the floor beside her bed.

“Everything alright now?”

Beca nodded, too tired to talk anymore.

“Okay then, I’ll close the door after me. Try to get some sleep. And remember that I’m just across the hall if you need anything.”

A quiet “thanks” was all the response Chloe got before she closed the door after her and continued to her own room. She was pretty tired as well and thought a short nap was in order. She sent a short message to Stacie, saying that they were at home now and everything was fine, before she fell into a deep sleep.

 

“What happened Marie? Where is Beca?” were Claire’s first questions when she came back into the living room with her husband.

“Is something wrong?” Andrew asked, not knowing why his wife dragged him away from the garage.

“Beca had a little accident in the parking lot of the mall today. She was running and a car hit her. She was brought to the hospital and they diagnosed a concussion. She’s fine otherwise, but she’s allowed to stay home from school if the headache gets worse. She’s got some painkillers to help her with that. She should take it easy for a few days.”

“I asked the hospital to call me if she was ever admitted because of her past and they did when Beca came in. That’s why I’m here now. I don’t want to alarm you but the doctor read her file and asked me to come speak to him in private. I followed him into his office and he asked about Beca’s past. I told him a little bit and asked him if he could have an eye on her if she ever came back. I just wanted to let you know that if you ever bring her to the hospital they will probably ask you some uncomfortable questions. Foster parents are usually the first people that will be suspected if the foster kid is hurt. Especially in Beca’s case. So I just wanted to give you guys a heads up.”

“We would never hurt her.” Claire said with conviction, not being able to even process the thought of harming any of her children. All three of them.

Marie smiled at her. “I believe you. But it’s only been a week and I can’t be careful enough. So if Beca is injured again, will you call me? Then I would know what was going on if the hospital called me.”

Andrew nodded. “Of course. And I know that it has only been a week but we would never hurt her. She is a sweet girl and I’m sure she’ll warm up to us.”

“Thanks. Yes I think so too. Beca likes it here and I hope that it’ll stay that way. I don’t want to take too much of your time so I think I’ll get going. It was nice to see you again.”

Claire stood up and shook Marie’s hand again. “It was nice to see you as well. Why don’t you come around for dinner one of these days? I’m sure Beca would like that, she seems to like you very much even if she isn’t showing it on the outside.”

Marie chuckled. “I’ll ask her. Thanks for the invitation, but I’ll have to get back to you on that. Busy schedule at the moment.”

“Of course.” Andrew said and shook her hand as well. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Thank you.”

 

Beca woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. Her limbs felt sore and her mouth was dry. She opened her eyes slowly and noticed that she had slept in her clothes again.

Ugh, she thought, they are so dirty. I really need to take a shower and get out of these clothes.

She sat up carefully and took stock of her body. There was the obvious headache but other than that, the soreness of her limbs was the only other annoyance she could detect. She was sure it would go away after a hot shower.

She stood up and noticed the glass of water that was still standing next to her bed. Beca remembered Chloe asking her if she needed anything and then bringing her a glass of water. That had been nice of her.

Beca drank the rest of the water and then headed to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and put a towel around herself after she finished. The brunette noticed then, that she had forgotten some clean clothes to put on after her shower and debated with herself if she should just put her dirty clothes back on for the short walk across the hall or risk running there in the towel.

She wouldn’t even consider that question in her last home, she would have already been halfway back in her old clothes but she thought she could risk it here. Nothing would happen.

That didn’t mean her heart didn’t start beating extremely fast the second she turned the lock of the bathroom door and put her head through the crack to see if the coast was clear. She couldn’t see anyone so she gathered all of her courage and ran across the hall and into her room, firmly closing and locking the door behind her.

She breathed heavily and took a moment to realize that nothing had happened. Nobody had stopped her or talked to her.

After her breath had evened out a little she grabbed her last clean clothes from her bag, put them on and searched her dirty jeans for the pain killers the doctor had given her yesterday. She took two of them and swallowed them dry.

Then she sat back down on her bed and switched her phone back on. She had five new messages. Two from Jesse, one from Stacie, Marie and Chloe each.

She rolled her eyes at Jesse’s texts.

 **Jesse Swanson (Saturday, 10:15 am)**  
Hey Becs, how is your shopping trip? Listen, if you are free later tonight can I come over and talk to you? Or you can come to my place, I don’t really care. Text me.

 **Jesse Swanson (Saturday, 2:55 pm)**  
You got HIT by a CAR?? Becs, call me as soon as you are awake!

Beca smiled a little, happy that Jesse cared enough to worry about her. She was a little confused by the first text though. Why did he want to talk to her? They had just seen each other on Friday night.

She decided to text him back, saving the call for later tonight.

 **Beca Mitchell (Sunday, 10:44 am)**  
I’m fine Jesse. Just a concussion, I’ll have a headache for a few days, but other than that I’m fine. I’ll call you later tonight, okay? I’m quite curious what you wanted to talk to me about.

Beca opened the next text.

 **Stacie Conrad (Saturday, 3:12 pm)**  
Hey Beca, I only wanted to make sure that you are okay. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. See you on Monday :)

Beca smiled at the text. She didn’t really know how she managed to make friends with someone like Stacie but she quite liked the taller brunette.

 **Beca Mitchell (Sunday, 10:52 am)**  
Thanks for the concern Stacie, but I’ll be fine. Thank you for the offer. See you on Monday.

Beca scrolled to the next text.

 **Marie Reynolds (Saturday, 5:15 pm)**  
Hey Beca, I talked to the Beale’s so they know what happened. Take it easy for a few days and call me if you need anything. Don’t hesitate to take your meds, they are there to help you. Also, the Beale’s invited me to dinner some time next week. I like them so I’d like to come but if you don’t want me to, that’s fine. Just text me :) And please call Jesse, he’s been calling and texting me every ten minutes in the last few hours. Talk to you soon :)

The small brunette had to smile at this. She knew how Jesse could get, especially if she got hurt and she didn’t envy Marie even a little bit.

 **Beca Mitchell (Sunday, 10:59 am)**  
Hey Marie. Thanks for talking to them. And I don’t have a problem with you coming to dinner if you want to. I’ll call Jesse later tonight.

She read over the text a few times, trying to figure out if she managed to stay detached but still kinda friendly. She liked Marie quite a bit but she hadn’t forgotten the way her last social worker had treated her and forced herself to remain wary of her. Deeming the text acceptable, she hit send and read the last text on her phone.

 **Chloe Beale (Sunday, 9:05 am)**  
Good Morning Beca! I didn’t want to wake you up, so I’ll just text you quickly. Mom and Dad had to drive to my grandma’s place early this morning, so they are out of the house for a few hours and I’ll visit Bree for a while. I’ll be back around noon, maybe you won’t even notice that I’ve been gone. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know in case you woke up early. If you need help or something, don’t hesitate to ask, I can be back there in ten minutes. See you later :)

Huh. So she had the house to herself for at least another hour. Awesome.

Her headache had dulled considerably since she had taken the painkillers and she thought she would be able to make it down the stairs. She stood up, took her bag with her cigarettes and started walking down the stairs. It was slow going but she managed. She was still a little dizzy and her eyes hurt but she could walk.

She went into the kitchen and drank another glass of water. She went to the fridge and opened it but quickly started feeling uneasy. She had never been allowed to just take things out of the fridge. The one time she did hasn’t been a pleasant experience. Debating with herself if she should take something, the decision was taken out of her hand when her stomach rumbled loudly. Beca grabbed some strawberry jam and closed the fridge again. The Beales were different. They wouldn’t say anything about some toast.

She searched for some toast and quickly found it. Feeling very hungry, she took two slices of toast and put them in the toaster. When they jumped out of the toaster, signaling that they were ready, Beca quickly grabbed them and put a little of the jam on them.

Beca munched on the toast happily and began thinking about yesterday. Chloe had seen some of her scars. She had run away and was hit by a car. She managed to get a concussion and Marie was invited to dinner some time next week. It’s been a week since she had arrived at the Beale’s house and if Beca had to be honest with herself, she quite liked them. None of the rules of her former foster homes applied here (except for the curfew) and she had her own room. She hadn’t been hurt yet (by them at least) and school was okay as well since she had Jesse.

She didn’t dare hope that it would be different this time but she desperately wanted it to.

She would have to talk with Chloe. Not today but soon. The redhead seemed like a girl who wouldn’t be placated for long. She didn’t want to talk but she also didn’t want this to stand between them. She thought Chloe would make a great friend and for once, Beca wanted to be friends with someone. She liked Stacie, Benji and Amy as well, but it was different with the redhead. She didn’t know what it was that made Chloe so appealing to be around but she wanted to find out.

She also had to talk to her about Friday night again and make sure that the taller girl was really okay.

The small brunette took a deep breath after she finished her toast and made her way to the porch. Sitting down on the steps, she took out her cigarettes and lit one quickly. She breathed in the familiar scent of the cigarette and felt her body relax for the first time in a week. She was alone, the temperature was pleasant, if a little on the cold side and despite her fighting against it, a tiny sliver of hope had crept into her heart.

Beca remained on the porch for the next half hour, letting her mind wander and smoking two more cigarettes.

She was just finishing her last cigarette when Chloe walked up to the house. Beca looked down at her watch and noticed that it was already a quarter past noon.

Huh. That was fast.

Chloe smiled at Beca once she saw her sitting on the porch.

“Hey Beca. What are you doing outside?”

Beca shrugged. “Enjoying the weather and … trying to relax.” She showed Chloe her pack of cigarettes which earned her a disapproving look but the redhead didn’t say anything. She had learned her lesson last week.

“How is your head?”

“Okay I guess. It was hurting when I woke up but I took some painkillers. I’m fine now.” Normally she would have answered with an annoyed ‘fine’ but she wasn’t in the mood to be broody today. And she had just decided that she wanted to be friends with the redhead so the least she could offer the other girl were some words.

“I’m glad. If it starts to hurt again, you’ll let me know, okay?”

Beca smiled, successfully fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

“Yes. Did you have some homework to do with Aubrey or was it just a social visit?”

Chloe started giggling. “Oh, you have to listen to this, it’s awesome. She called me early this morning and ordered me to come over ASAP. Apparently the world was ending or something.” She rolled her eyes and smiled at Beca.

The small brunette snorted. “I take it she got a B+?”

The giggling redhead grinned. “No, much better than that. Let’s go inside, it’s too cold to stay on the porch for so long.”

Beca got up and carefully followed Chloe inside, still a little shaky on her legs. The fact that she hadn’t moved in half an hour didn’t help.

The smaller girl went into the kitchen to grab her glass of water and followed Chloe into the living room where the redhead sat down on the couch and patted the seat beside her with and expectant smile on her face.

Beca rose an eyebrow and pointedly sat in an armchair a few feet away from Chloe.

The redhead rolled her eyes but didn’t comment on it.

When Chloe didn’t start speaking even after Beca waited for three minutes, the brunette sighed. “You really want me to ask, huh?”

Chloe only nodded, smile getting brighter by the second.

Beca glared at the redhead playfully and asked. “What was so important that you had to go over there so early?”

“Oh my god, you won’t believe this! After we left the party on Friday, Bree got totally drunk and hooked up with someone! And you won’t believe who she hooked up with!”

Not particularly interested in the blonde’s love life, Beca took a sip from her glass of water, waiting for Chloe to spill the beans.

“Jesse!”

Beca’s eyes widened comically and the sip of water she had just taken went down the wrong pipe and she started coughing painfully. As soon as she was finished coughing, she turned her eyes back on Chloe, who was watching her with concerned eyes. “You okay? Chloe asked and Beca just nodded.

“Now, what did you say? Jesse and Aubrey?!”

Chloe’s grin returned. “Yes, she told me herself. She can’t really remember anything but she woke up with him early Saturday morning. They were in a room at the house of the party. She totally freaked and woke him up. Bree told him to forget everything that happened and immediately went home. She’s still freaked out.”

Beca rose her left eyebrow again. “And why are you so happy about this?”

Chloe’s smile turned smug. “Because she’s always on my case about responsibility and not doing stupid things while being drunk or getting drunk in general. This time she is the one who has a embarrassing story to tell. And it’s Jesse. I doubt he would go and tell everyone. Also they used protection so nothing will come of it except for a funny story.”

“Huh.” Beca held up one hand, signaling for Chloe to wait and fished her phone out of her jeans with the other hand. She hit speed dial number 1 and waited a few seconds.

“Becs? I thought you wanted to call me in the evening?”

“Dude! You slept with Aubrey?!”

“Wha… How do you know?!”

“Chloe told me just now.”

“Ugh, she told her? I thought she didn’t want anyone to know?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Dude, a girl’s best friend isn’t anyone. Of course she would have told her.”

“Becs, what should I do? I really like her but I don’t think she likes me very much.”

“How drunk was she? And you for that matter?”

“Um, a few drinks? Definitely not sober but I wasn’t completely drunk either. I remember everything clearly. I wouldn’t have slept with her if I thought she wouldn’t want it. She had a few drinks but I asked her a few times if she was sure and she said yes. She only seemed a little tipsy and she even remembered protection. Not that I wouldn’t have had but that was the first thing she asked me. And the next morning she freaked out and ran out of the house. I’ve tried calling her but she won’t answer.”

“So you don’t think she was too drunk to remember?” Chloe didn’t make the effort to hide that she was listening and rose an eyebrow when she heard what Beca was saying. Also, if Beca didn’t want Chloe to listen in, she could have just gone into her room. At least that was what the redhead was telling herself.

“Definitely not. She totally remembered, she didn’t even ask what happened when she woke up. She just screamed and then mumbled something about stupid alcohol and mistakes.”

“Huh.”

Chloe furrowed her brow. ‘What?’ she mouthed at Beca who just grinned back.

“Maybe give her some time? I just think she’s scared.”

Chloe was fed up with this one sided conversation, stood up and moved over to Beca, putting her head next to the brunette’s and tried to listen in. Beca moved away but remained in her seat, sending the redhead an annoyed look.

“About what?”

“I don’t know Jesse. Maybe you should talk to Chloe? She’s dying to find out what you are saying.”

“She’s there?!”

Beca grinned evilly. “Jup. Want me to put her on?”

Chloe was already holding her hand out with a wide satisfied grin on her face.

“Dude no!”

Beca started chuckling. “Why not? She has talked to her and she can probably shed some light on the whole situation.”

“No! I mean… do you think it would help?”

“Yes. You know that I don’t give good advice in these kind of situations. Just talk to her, she’ll help you. I guess.”

“If you think so. But wait! We haven’t talked about the CAR that HIT you!”

Beca groaned. “I’m fine! I have a concussion and have to take it easy for a few days. I’ve got painkillers and I won’t leave the house today, okay? If I start to feel dizzy, I’ll tell Chloe. Now, do you want me to put her on or what?”

“I’m just worried Becs. Are you sure you are alright? I can come over if you want.”

“No, I’m alright. I’m putting you on speaker now, I want to hear this.”

Beca did just that, put her phone on the couch table in front of her and leaned back into the seat, eager to hear what Chloe and Jesse would discuss.

“Um, Chloe?”

“Hey Jesse!” Chloe told him excitedly after she sat down on the arm of Beca’s chair, much to the smaller girl’s annoyance.

“Um, so you know what happened?”

“Yes, Bree told me this morning. But she told me she didn’t really remember what happened.”

“I’m sure she remembered. Maybe she just wants to forget it so she pretends to have forgotten. Chloe, I know that she is your best friend but I really like her. Can you tell me if she hates me or if she likes me even a little bit? If she doesn’t like me, I’ll back off, but if she does I want to fight for her.”

“Oh, you are so cute Jesse. I definitely know that she doesn’t hate you. But she was overwhelmed and she needs some time. I’ll talk to her again and try to get something out of her. I think you are a nice guy but I think you should back off for a while. Let her come to you, or wait until I tell you it’s okay to court her.”

Beca broke out into a fit of giggles and mouthed ‘court?’ at Chloe who just rolled her eyes and mouthed ‘shut up’ in her direction. The brunette was still sniggering when Chloe turned back to the phone conversation.

“I guess I can do that. I’m just glad she doesn’t hate me. Thank you Chloe.”

“No problem Jesse. Don’t worry too much, I’ll see you on Monday okay? Do you want me to put Beca back on?”

“No, I’ll talk to her later. Or see her tomorrow. Will you take care of her for today? She always acts tough but I’m sure her head is hurting again.”

“I am tough!” Beca said, mildly put out by Jesse trying to get Chloe to take care of her.

Jesse snorted. “Yeah, right. I’ll see you tomorrow Becs. Try not to get in another accident until I see you next. Marie will have a heart attack when she gets another call saying that you are in the hospital. She was out of her seat the moment she heard that you were hurt.”

Beca furrowed her brow. “You were with her?”

“Yeah, she was visiting my house for her monthly visit. We talked for a while until she had to go to the hospital.”

“Huh. I’ll try my best. See you tomorrow weirdo.”

“Bye Beca, Chloe.”

Jesse ended the call and the two girls were met with the sound of the dial tone.

A few seconds later Beca started sniggering again. “Court? Really Chloe? Where did you get that word from?”

“Shut it. It’s a perfectly acceptable word.”

Beca snorted. “Yeah, when you’re like 40.”

“Whatever. So was Jesse right? Is your head hurting again?”

Beca’s smile vanished as quickly as her good mood. “Thanks for reminding me. Now it’s hurting again.”

“I’m sorry Beca. I’m just worried.”

Beca sighed and got up from her seat, putting her phone back into her pocket. “I know. I’ll go up to my room and take a few more pills. I think I’ll try to get some more sleep. So you know when your parents will be back?”

Chloe shook her head. “No. My grandma broke her ankle this morning and mom and dad are at the hospital with her right now. They called earlier to let me know. It isn’t that serious, she will have to wear a cast for a few weeks but the doctor said otherwise everything was fine. Luckily my aunt lives next door to her so she can help her. She’s on a trip this weekend though, that’s why my parents went over to help her.”

“Oh, I hope she will get better soon. Can you wake me when they get back?”

Chloe grinned. “Oh, you mean pound against the door until you wake your lazy ass up?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Exactly.”

The redhead sniggered and nodded. Before Beca could move up the stairs though, Chloe stopped her again. “On second thought, Beca, would you mind leaving the door unlocked for a little while? It’s just with your concussion, I wouldn’t be able to help you if something went wrong while you were asleep. I promise to wake you before anyone else will be home. I will be the only one home and I won’t bother you.”

Beca hesitated. She knew that what Chloe was asking was reasonable. One couldn’t be too careful with a concussion but leaving her door unlocked went against every single one of her instincts.

She looked at the taller girl and saw the pleading and honest look in her eyes. Deciding to take a big leap of faith, Beca led out a deep breath and nodded once.

“Okay. I’ll trust you with this. But please wake me as soon as your parents will get home.”

Chloe smiled at the small brunette gratefully and nodded quickly.

“I will. Thank you Beca. I promise I won’t bother you.”

Beca nodded and turned around to start her slow walk up the stairs. This time it wasn’t her concussion that made walking difficult. Her bruises had started to make themselves known and Beca ached all over.

“Do you need help?”

Not turning around, Beca just shook her head. “No, but thanks Chloe. See you later.”

“Have a nice nap.”

With that, Beca walked up the stairs to her room, closed the door behind her, hesitated a moment as she saw the lock and then left it open.

She took another pill and then got back into her bed. She was asleep a few minutes later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Short question guys. Some of you seemed to like Marie quite a bit. Should she be around more often? She’s an OC so I don’t really know if you guys would want that. If you want to see more of her, please let me know. :) Oh, and another thing. A guest asked if Bechloe would be in a relationship in this story, because so far, there has only been friendship between them. That’s true, there are no feelings between them yet and it might stay that way for a while (This story is going to be looong). But after they have build up some trust between them and have dealt with some more problems they will be in a relationship. But that will be in the far future, I hope you guys don’t mind. I just think this kind of story needs time to develop.


	13. Chapter 13

The rest of Sunday had been spent in comfortable clothes and reading some new chapters of the book Beca had started reading a few weeks ago.

As promised, Chloe had woken Beca up as soon as her parents came home from the hospital at 5.30 in the evening. Claire cooked some soup and all of them ate together and talked about Chloe's grandma and Beca's concussion.

Beca wasn't feeling completely comfortable with them yet, but she decided to give them a chance and even stayed downstairs to watch an hour of the game that was on the TV with them after dinner. After that, she felt tired again and quickly fell asleep until her phone's alarm woke her up the next morning.

The first thing she noticed when she woke up was that the headache was back. It wasn't as bad as the one from yesterday morning, but she still felt like somebody was using a jackhammer on her skull. She searched for her pills for a moment and popped some of them into her mouth. Beca groggily crawled out of her bed and released a loud yawn. She was still feeling pretty tired even if she got a solid 9 hours of sleep and had a nap during the day yesterday. But she didn't want to inconvenience anyone by staying home, so she toughened up and searched through her bag for some clean clothes. Finding some clean underwear quickly, she searched for a few minutes for a shirt and a pair of jeans but she had no choice but to admit defeat. There were no clean clothes left. She sniffed one of her jeans and deemed them acceptable to wear, but there was no way she would be able to wear one of her shirts. 

Not really knowing what to do now, she stared into space for a minute, mind hastily running through possible solutions. All of them contained her clothes being washed somehow and she didn't have the time to get them dry in time for school. Beca was even considering wearing her sleep shirt under her leather jacket (it was an old washed out band shirt, but there thankfully weren't any holes in it) when a knocking sound at her door distracted her from her thoughts.

“Beca? Are you awake?”

The brunette girl quickly jumped into her jeans while she answered. “Yes, do you need something Chloe?”

“Can I come in?”

“Why?”

“Because I don't like talking to a piece of wood.”

“... fine.”

Beca went over to the door and unlocked it after she had checked that her hair was more or less acceptable and that her shirt covered most of her arms. There were some of the smaller cigarette marks showing around her wrists but Chloe had already seen them and Beca had forgotten her leather jacket downstairs. And she really didn't want to put on her dirty clothes.

Chloe walked into the room, still in her pajamas, with a messy bun on her head.

The smaller girl rose an eyebrow at her friends appearance. “What was so important that you couldn't take the time to dress yourself before coming to my room?”

Chloe waved Beca's question off with a dismissing hand gesture and sat herself down in the chair that stood by Beca's desk. 

“Nothing important. I just wanted to see how you were and asked if you'll come to school today. You don't have to if your head is still bothering you.”

Beca rolled her eyes and sat back down on her bed, crossing her legs under her and facing Chloe. “I'm fine. I won't lie and tell you that it doesn't hurt anymore, but I took some more pills a few minutes ago and I think I can handle a few hours at school. As long as I don't have to go to gym class, I should be fine.”

“Hm. I'm glad you're not lying to me, but if your head is still hurting you should stay home. Dad will head to work in an hour and mom needs to go and see how grandma is doing. So you should be mostly alone if that was what was bothering you.”

Beca looked at Chloe, a surprised look painted on her face. She hadn't even thought about that. Which should really bother her, since she didn't want to stay asleep when they came home yesterday. She was really starting to feel comfortable here and was letting her guard down. She knew that she had told herself this a lot during the past few days, but letting her guard down was dangerous. She needed to stay strong.

“Beca?”

The brunette girl blinked a few times until Chloe's face came back into her vision. “Um, sorry, just thinking about some stuff. No, that's not what I was worried about. I'll go to school, don't worry. But I'll head to the nurse if something feels funny okay?”

Chloe smiled brightly and nodded. “Yes. I'll go and take a shower now. Did you already use the bathroom?”

Beca shook her head. 

“Then I'll let you know when I'm finished.”

Beca nodded. Before Chloe had closed the door completely, Beca took all of her courage and spoke up again. “Chloe?”

The redheaded girl turned around. “Hm?”

“I hate to ask, but can I maybe borrow a shirt from you? My clothes are dirty, I really need to wash them. I don't have anything clean left.”

Chloe looked at the small brunette with a confused expression on her face. “Why didn't you give them to mom? She was doing laundry on Saturday while we were at the mall.”

“I don't like other people touching my stuff. I'll do my laundry when I get back from school later today. So, can I borrow a shirt or not? If not, please get out, I still have my bag to pack.” Beca didn't like it if someone asked questions like that, even if she knew that Chloe was only curious. She was sorry for talking to her so rudely but she couldn't change that now.

“Woah, woah, of course you can borrow a shirt. I was just asking. Long sleeves, right?” She asked while quickly looking at Beca's half uncovered arms. Beca crossed her arms in front of her and nodded curtly.

“Just a second....” With that, Chloe quickly went into her room and came back with a familiar long-sleeved black shirt thirty seconds later.

Beca looked at her, clearly unimpressed by the article of clothing.

“You didn't.”

“I didn't. But Stacie did. Just wear the damn shirt, I know you like it. Stacie bought it when we ran out of the shop.”

“I told you that I don't need new clothes.”

“And I know that that is a lie. It's one shirt, where is the harm in that?”

Beca just shook her head tiredly. “You wouldn't understand. Give me that thing, I'm not in the mood to argue today. Do you have Bellas practice today?”

Chloe shrugged and gave Beca the shirt. She didn't want to anger the small brunette when she wasn't well. “No, we have rehearsals on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So we can go home together after school today. Now that I'm thinking about it, you aren't allowed to do sports in the next two weeks, I don't know if you actually have to stay for gym class. Why don't you ask Coach Price before gym class today. Maybe you can go home early.”

Beca shrugged. “I guess I'll ask him then.”

“Great. I'll go and take that shower now, otherwise we'll be late. Do you want to shower before school?”

Beca shook her head. “No, I showered yesterday. We don't have enough time, so I'll shower after school.”

“Okay then. See you in a few minutes.”

Chloe closed the door after her and left Beca sitting in her room, holding the black shirt from Saturday in her hands. She didn't really know what to do. On the one hand, she really liked the shirt, it was already bought and Beca didn't have anything else to wear. On the other hand, it was a gift from her foster family and Beca had bad experiences with those. What if they decided they wanted it back suddenly? Then she'd have to take it off in front of them and there was no way she would do that. It had happened before. 

Sighing loudly after looking at her watch, she decided to think about it later. She had to get ready now if she didn't want to be late. So she quickly dressed herself and waited for a few minutes until Chloe was finished in the bathroom. Beca washed her face and brushed her teeth, put on her make-up and made her way downstairs ten minutes later. 

Both Chloe and Beca only gulped down a cup of coffee and took a toast to eat on the way.

They were walking next to each other, munching on their toasts, when Beca remembered something.

“Um, Chloe?”

“Hm?”

“Will you be okay at school today?”

Chloe turned her head a little to look at Beca in confusion. “Yes? Of course, why would you ask?”

“Well, you will be seeing Justin again. I'm just worried that he'll want to talk to you.”

The happy mood Chloe had been in all morning slowly vanished. “Oh. I understand what you mean. You think he'll try and talk to me? I thought you were pretty clear that night. I don't think he'll try anything.”

“I hope so. But you still shouldn't be alone anywhere today. Always take someone with you, okay?”

Chloe nodded. “Okay. But please don't make a scene even if he does decide to talk to me. I can handle it and I don't want anyone to know.”

Beca was skeptical but agreed. She would make sure he didn't try anything funny.

The two of them continued walking to school in silence.

When they arrived, Chloe was about to go greet Stacie and Aubrey when she remembered something.

“Oh, I nearly forgot! Have you decided which club you want to join? They said you had to join one if you wanted to graduate, right?”

Beca sighed. “Yeah. I haven't really decided yet. How much time do you think I have?”

The redhead shrugged. “I don't know. But it's already the end of November, I wouldn't wait too long. Maybe they won't give you the credits if you don't take part in the club for a whole year. I would decide this week if I were you.”

The little brunette looked at the ground and shuffled her feet. “I don't really want to join a club.” she mumbled silently, but Chloe still heard her.

“I know. But why don't you come to Bella's practice with me tomorrow? You can see what we're doing and maybe you'll even like it.”

Beca shrugged. “I don't really have a better plan. Music is fun and I don't really want to be on the track team. I should talk to Coach Price later.”

Chloe's smile widened. “Awesome. As you know, practice will be after school tomorrow. Don't try and leave before that.”

The brunette rolled her eyes. “I won't.”

“Great!” with that, Chloe turned around with a wave and walked towards Aubrey and Stacie.

Beca was just starting to appreciate the silence when she heard a loud “Beca!” from somewhere behind her. When she turned around, she saw Jesse walking towards her.

“Hey Beca!” he said when he reached her and the two of them started walking to Beca's first class.

“Hey Jesse. What's up?”

He shrugged. “Nothing much. I know you hate questions about your health, so I will only ask once. Are you okay? Or does your head still hurt?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “I''m fine. Took some pills this morning and I got them with me if the headache starts again. I'll just have to sleep this off.”

Jesse smiled brightly and held his hand up for a fist bump. He knew that Beca didn't like hugs, so he didn't offer them even if he would like to give her the comfort such a move conveyed sometimes.

The little brunette smiled and fist bumped her best friend. She really appreciated his respect for her personal space.

“Sooo, you and Aubrey, huh?”

Jesse's head immediately turned bright red. “Shh! Not so loud! She'll kill me if more people find out about that. And there isn't an us. Sadly.”

“Aw, come on dude. I know you weren't lying when you told me you were mostly sober. Both of you. So even if she's in denial right now, I'm sure she'll come around. There must have been something she liked about you, otherwise she wouldn't have done anything with you, let alone sleep with you.”

Her best friend sighed. “I guess. But I really like her, Becs. I don't know what I would do if she rejected me for good.”

“You know I'm not good with advice. Let Chloe talk to her and then we'll probably know more.”

“I guess so.”

“How was it, by the way?”

Jesse looked at her with a confused expression on his face. “Huh?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Did you leave your brain at home this morning? I asked you if you liked it.”

Jesse's blush returned with a vengeance. “I'm not talking about that!”

“Dude, I don't want to know details, I just wanted to know if it was the way you expected it to be. It was your first time, right?”

“Shh! Not so loud! But yes, it was. And it was better than I could have imagined. Aubrey is super hot.”

“Dude!” Beca slapped him lightly on his arm. “No details, please. But I'm glad you enjoyed it.”

He smiled. “I did. What about you? Have you ever...?”

Beca's good mood vanished at once. “No.” she answered shortly. “I have to get to class now, Jesse. See you at lunch.” 

She hurried to her Pre-Calculus class and arrived five minutes before the class would start. The only other person already in the room was none other than Justin. 

Already in a bad mood from Jesse's prying, Beca decided to go over to him and talk to him.

“Justin.”

He glared at her when she stopped in front of his desk.

“What do you want?”

“I hope you kept your mouth shut about Friday night.”

Still glaring at her, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back in his seat. “This has nothing to do with you, newbie.”

Beca only rolled her eyes. “Wrong. I was there, that makes it my business. I told you to stay away from Chloe and I expect you to do just that. Don't try anything again, or you'll regret it. We haven't called the cops yet because Chloe doesn't want to deal with it in public but if you even look at her strange, I'll convince her to go to the cops. Do you understand me?”

“I haven't done anything today. Haven't even seen her, so back off.”

“Make sure it stays that way.” Beca told him with emphasis and turned around to take her seat. The other students were starting to walk into the room. 

The first two classes of the day went over pretty fast. Beca talked a little with Stacie, who was sitting next to her in their Pre-Calculus class but remained silent other wise, only sending the occasional glare in Justin's direction. She greeted Jesse and Amy in English literature but let them talk between them. Jesse was sending her a few worried glances but she smiled at him reassuringly and he didn't ask any questions.

It wasn't that Beca was in a bad mood exactly, but Jesse's question from earlier had managed to bring some bad memories back and the thing with Justin didn't help. Since Beca didn't want to scowl and snap at the others, she just decided to say nothing. 

Lunch time finally arrived and Beca sat down with Jesse, Amy and Benji again. They had been talking between them for the last five minutes – well the others had been talking between them, Beca was just nibbling on an apple – when Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey came over and sat down at their table.

“Hey guys, do you mind if we sit with you?” Chloe asked, already sitting in the empty seat beside Beca.

“Well, it would be rude to send you away since you guys are already sitting. And standing up would cost you guys too many calories you can't afford to loose.”

Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey were looking at Amy, not sure if they were welcome or should just go and sit somewhere else.

Benji smiled at all three of the girls. “She's joking. You're welcome to sit with us.”

“I don't know if I should be offended or not.” Stacie muttered to Beca and Chloe.

“I don't think she meant it that way.” Beca answered. 

“Nah, you make us more popular and get all the cute guys to stare at our table. You can eat with us whenever you want.” Amy said while eating her sandwich.

“Um, okay then?” Chloe said and turned to Beca. “How was English Literature?”

Beca shrugged. “Okay I guess.”

Chloe leaned in closer, so only Beca could hear her. “Are you okay? You seem tense and a little angry? Did something happen?”

“I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine.”

“Is it your head?”

Beca was about to answer in the negative when she thought better of it and nodded. “Yes, but nothing serious. I'll feel better in a while.”

Accepting the answer, Chloe nodded and leaned back in her seat, listening to the others talking about teachers and stuff.

Beca sighed, happy that her excuse got accepted. She really didn't want to talk about the reason she was feeling a little tense. Especially not to Chloe.

The rest of the day went by pretty fast. Beca talked to Coach Price and he was a little sad that she didn't want to join the track team but he accepted her decision. She told him about her concussion and he agreed to let her sit out for the next two weeks. If she had homework she was allowed to spent the time in the library but she had to stay on school grounds.

Beca happily agreed and watched the rest of her class mates playing another round of basketball. They weren't very good but it was fun to watch. 

She used the time to think about her new friends. She liked Benji and even laughed at some of the jokes Amy cracked. She even kinda liked Aubrey and Stacie. They were fun to watch. That wasn't usual behavior for her and she was a little worried that she had found so many friends so quickly. Friends always asked questions, which is why she didn't have many friends to begin with. She had always been antisocial and preferred to spent her time alone. Now, she liked sitting at lunch with the others and looked forward to the time she spent with Chloe in the evening.

If it had only been Chloe, she could have written it off as some weird ginger magic or something, but she was starting to feel comfortable with a lot of people. That could become a problem.

After gym class had ended, Beca waited for Chloe in front of the gym, scrolling through her phone.

When she heard some shuffling from the left, she lifted her head and saw the janitor from last week looking at her as he pulled two trash cans behind him.

Not knowing why he was watching her, but not wanting to be rude (really? Two weeks ago, she wouldn't have cared if she was rude...) she sent a small “Hello' in his direction.

He stopped walking for a moment and looked at her for a few seconds until he nodded and continued pulling the trash cans after him.

Weird, Beca thought but didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later, Chloe came out of the gym and the two of them started walking home. 

They walked in comfortable silence and were greeted with Claire's voice as soon as they came through the front door.

“Hey you two, how was school? I just got off the phone with your brother, Chloe. He said he'll come home for the Christmas holidays.”

Chloe smiled brightly. “Really? I haven't seen him in forever!”

Claire rolled her eyes. “You've seen him last month, Chloe.”

The redhead shook her head. “That's been forever ago. I'm glad he'll come home. You can meet him then, Beca, I'm sure he'll love you.”

Beca was standing next to Chloe in the kitchen. “Um.”

Chloe turned around to look at her questioningly. “Is something wrong?”

The small brunette quickly shook her head. “No. Everything is fine. I'm sure he is a nice guy.”

“He is.” Chloe nodded. “I hope he can show us some new things with the mixing software. I'm pretty sure you've already got most of it figured out, but it can't hurt to ask him some things. You'll like him.”

Beca just nodded. “Yeah.”

Chloe was a little uneasy with Beca's monosyllabic answers but decided to shrug it off. Her brother would be coming home in like three weeks! 

Deciding to share the good news with her two best friends who also loved Nathan, the redhead started walking up the stairs and went to her room, leaving Beca standing in the kitchen with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

This Christmas will be interesting, she thought as she started following Chloe up the stairs. She went into her room and decided to lay down for a moment. School had been exhausting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. Next chapter we'll have Beca's first Bellas practice and we'll probably hear a little more about Beca's past :D


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys, just a quick warning, the next part (the one in Italics) may contain some sensitive material. Nothing too graphic, but you know, it may upset some people. Have fun reading :)

_Fifteen year old Beca and her foster father John came home from the funeral on a rainy Friday afternoon. John's wife, Lisa Scott, had died in a car accident five days earlier and John had been devastated. He cried for the whole five days and Beca couldn't do anything to comfort him._

_She really wanted to be able to help him, they had been really kind to her when they picked her up from the group home one year earlier, shortly after the incident with Steven West and the beer bottle. They had been very nice to her and Beca thought that she may have finally found a family where she could stay and finish her education. But just when everything was going well, Lisa Scott was hit by a teenager driving his father's car without a license. She died immediately and the kid was taken into custody._

_The funeral had been boring and depressing, but Beca knew that they were supposed to be that way. She was sad that Lisa had died, but she couldn't bring herself to cry. She had considered Lisa – and John – as people she was living with and not as people who were supposed to take care of her. They did of course, but they left her alone when she wanted to be alone. Which was pretty much all the time. So they gave her money and cooked her food every once in a while. Other than that, they didn't do much together._

_John walked into his house and threw his car keys on the table. He kicked off his shoes and let himself fall into the couch. Beca watched him silently, not knowing if she should talk to him or just let him be. Just then, John began to talk. “Hey kid? Can you get me a bottle from the fridge? I need a drink.”_

_“Sure.” Beca shrugged and went into the kitchen to get the beer out of the fridge. John wasn't a heavy drinker so she wasn't really worried. She gave him the beer and started walking up the stairs. “I'll be in my room if you need me, okay?”_

_John just grunted and turned on the TV after opening his bottle and taking a big gulp out of it._

_Beca busied herself with some homework when John shouted her name about four hours later._

_“Yes?” She asked when she stood on top of the stairs._

_“Come down here!”_

_“Um, okay?” she said confusedly but still walked down the stairs to see what he wanted._

_He was standing in the middle of the living room, a number of empty beer bottles lying around him._

_“I want you to go to the store and get me more beer._ ”

_Beca looked at him closely. His eyes were glassy, his cheeks were rosy and he was already swaying where he was standing. “I don't think that would be a good idea. You're already drunk.”_

_His eyes turned angry as he stumbled over to where she was standing. “What was that?”_

_Beca looked him directly into the heavily dilated eyes. “You've had enough. Just get some sleep, you'll feel better in the morning.”_

_John grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and leaned into Beca until his face was only inches from hers. “I said go and get me that beer. You'll regret it if you don't.”_

_Having known John for a year now, Beca was pretty sure that he wouldn't do anything to her if she denied him his request. So for the sake of his health and wallet, she said no._

_Which turned out to be a mistake._

_John started breathing heavily and shook Beca a little, ordering her to do as he said. When she still didn't do what he wanted, he raised his right hand and slapped her across the face._

_She immediately stepped a few steps back and held her cheek in her right hand, looking at John with wide scared eyes._

_“Get me that beer!”_

_“Yes!” she squeaked and hurried out of the room to get his wallet and go to the store to buy some beer. It would be a little difficult since Beca was only fifteen, but she had managed to trick the cashier before._

_That night had started a whole year of being pushed around, doing chores (which she didn't really mind, but it left her next to no time for her school work) and being some kind of personal slave._

_Her social worker, Richard Flemming, was friends with John and didn't notice anything wrong when he came round to visit. Jesse noticed that something was wrong but Beca never told him anything. She always told herself that she should feel grateful that it wasn't worse. He never used anything other than his fists, so she could hide the few bruises._

_One year later – on the anniversary of Lisa's death and a few days after Beca's sixteenth birthday – everything got worse._

_John was still drinking and did so on this evening as well. He had visited Lisa's grave in the morning and came home around noon to start his first bottle of the day. Beca didn't pay him much attention and stayed in her room, working on homework and listening to music._

_Beca was just about to head over to the bathroom to brush her teeth and head into bed at 10:30 in the evening when she heard his heavy footsteps on the stairs. Not really wanting to bother him or make him angry, Beca went back into her room and wanted to wait until he had gone to bed. She heard his footsteps on the stairs but they suddenly stopped directly in front of her room. She furrowed her brows, trying to come up with a reason why he would stop in front of her room, when the door opened._

_She cursed herself under her breath for forgetting to lock her door again, but it was too late now._

_“Beca...” He said and looked at her._

_“What do you want John?” Beca asked timidly. “Can I get you another beer? I can run to the store and get some.”_

_“No. This is all your fault.”_

_“What? What are you talking about?” Beca was starting to feel really scared now. Normally, he would just shout at her and hit her a little when he was drunk, but this sudden calm behavior scared her._

_“If we hadn't taken you in, Lisa wouldn't have died. She wouldn't have gone to the store to get you some stupid notebooks and that stupid kid wouldn't have run her over. This is all your fault!”_

_“N-no!” Beca stuttered when he took a few steps forward and reached for her. “It wasn't my fault! Get away from me!”_

_“We were nice enough to take you in and how do you repay us? By killing my wife!”_

_“No, I didn't!” Beca tried to tell him but he wasn't listening. He finally managed to grab her and threw her on her bed. He straddled her and started throwing punches at her face and chest._

_“No! Stop, please!” Beca cried and tried to protect her face with her arms, but he was too strong and just took her wrists in one of his hands and trapped them over her head, using his free hand to rain more punches onto her head._

_His punches got slower after a while and Beca thought that the worst was over when she opened her eyes and saw the evil glint in his eyes as he eyed her chest._

_Beca's eyes widened in horror when his hand came towards her to grab one of her breasts._

_“You've developed quite a bit this last year.” He said with a calculating tone in his voice._

_“Oh god no, please! I'll do anything, just let me go!” Beca cried but he didn't listen. The small brunette continued her struggle but she got weaker by the minute. John continued palming her breasts, panting loudly in her ear. Beca tried to distract herself by thinking about anything that wasn't John, but it wasn't working very well when she felt his hands at her jeans._

_Beca renewed her struggles but she knew she would never be able to shake him off. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and sang a song in her head as loudly as she could while he did what he wanted to do._

_When he finally left, Beca laid still in her bed, eyes closed tightly, heart beating wildly and her breath coming in short gasps. She couldn’t believe what just happened. They had been different for god’s sake! And now she had to find out that he was worse than any of her foster parents before. What was she supposed to do now? She could go to her social worker, but she doubted he’d believe her. He regularly came around to play poker with John and his buddies. There was no way he’d believe her if she told him what he had done._

_The shock finally settled in fully and Beca started to tremble violently and big tears started falling down her cheeks. She curled herself up in the middle of the bed, trying to forget everything by squeezing her eyes shut firmly._

„Beca?“ _She flinched violently when she heard a voice but furrowed her brows as the sound of the voice registered. It didn’t sound like John._

„Beca, wake up!“ _Wake up? Why should she wake up? She wasn’t sleeping, although she wished she was._

“Beca!” The sudden pressure on her shoulders startled her back into consciousness.

She opened her eyes and only saw someone standing over here, the tears in her eyes preventing her from seeing who it actually was.

“No!” she shouted and put her arms in front of herself, kicking her legs in the direction of the person next to her.

“Ugh!” Someone said as soon as Beca felt her foot make contact with somebody. She scrambled up from the bed and ran into a corner, trying to hide herself from the other person in her room.

Her chest heaved heavily with her erratic breathing and she used her hands to wipe the tears from her eyes and cheeks. As soon as her eyes cleared she noticed where she was and who was in the room with her.

“Chloe?”

The redhead looked at her with a grimace on her face and both of her arms wrapped tightly around her middle. “Yeah. Thanks for that, Becs, you got some strong legs. Maybe you should reconsider joining the track team.” She tried to smile but Beca saw that it didn’t reach the girl’s eyes.

“Oh my god, Chloe, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I mean, where does it hurt? I didn’t know it was you…” Beca rambled as she walked over to Chloe and made her sit down on her bed.

“I’m okay. It’ll probably bruise but that doesn’t matter. Are **you** okay? That nightmare must have been awful, you were crying and whimpering. I couldn’t wake you until I shook your shoulders. Sorry for that by the way, I know you don’t really like to be touched. But I thought it would be better to wake you up.”

Beca suddenly straightened her body and sent a fake smile in Chloe’s direction. “Thanks for waking me up.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You know how it is. One of those dreams where you are falling and falling and falling. It was awful. I don’t really like heights.”

The redhead narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “Are you sure? You were talking in your sleep, you know?”

Beca gulped and looked around the room, trying to avoid Chloe’s eyes. “Um, what did I say? I’m pretty sure it must have been something along the lines of ‘aaaaaaaaaah!’?”

Chloe shook her head. “No. Beca, please. I know that you don’t like talking about your past and I won’t make you, but the things I heard sounded serious. There is no way it was a normal nightmare. I want to help you Becs, please let me.” The redhead slowly grabbed Beca’s hand off her lap and intertwined their fingers. The brunette’s hand twitched but she didn’t pull it away.

Beca sighed deeply and her body seemed to fold into itself, making her far more vulnerable.

“Please Chloe, let it go. It was a nightmare and yes, I’ll admit that it wasn’t a normal one but I can’t talk about it. Not won’t. Can’t. I don’t want to lie to you because I think we can be great friends but please don’t ask questions.”

“But Beca…”

“No, Chloe. Stop it. I’m fine. I’m sorry for kicking you, it wasn’t my intention and I hope it won’t hurt so much. But I’m done talking about this.”

“Becs…”

“I said no.” the brunette said firmly, trying to extract her hand from Chloe’s.

Chloe rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on the smaller girl’s hand. “Will you let me speak for a second? I wasn’t trying to argue. I respect you boundaries. Even though I don’t like it. I won’t pry into your past if you don’t want me to, but the picture that is painting itself in my mind isn’t a pleasant one. So if you want to talk about it, I’m here. And if you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. There are a lot of people willing to listen to you. If you don’t want to talk to someone you know, there is always the possibility of a professional…”

Before Chloe could finish speaking, Beca had ripped her hand out of Chloe’s and was standing in front of her, eyes wide and angry. “Are you suggesting a shrink?!”

The redhead looked at the other girl calmly. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m giving you options. It’s your decision if you act on any of those.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But I think it would help….”

Beca raised her eyebrows. “Oh? So you admit talking to people helps? Then why didn’t you do it when I was the one to suggest it Friday night?”

Chloe flinched back as if she had been slapped and glared at Beca. “That was over the line Beca. And I talked to you!”

“Only because I’ve been there! You wouldn’t have talked about it to anyone if nobody had seen anything!”

“Why are you bringing this up Beca? I was trying to help you. And I was just giving you options.”

Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Honestly Chloe, you say you respect my boundaries but you are frequently crossing them. I admit that it’s partly my fault because I let you, but if you don’t stop talking about this topic now, I’ll….” Beca trailed off, not really knowing what to threaten the redhead with.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Chloe mirrored Beca’s stance and looked firmly into the other girl's stormy blue eyes. “You’ll what?”

Beca scowled and shook her head. “Whatever. Sorry for kicking you.” She said and grabbed her leather jacket and made her way downstairs. Chloe followed her to the tops of the stairs. “Where are you going? I wasn’t finished!”

“Outside! And yes you were!” Beca shouted and slammed the front door behind her. She walked a few feet until she stood under a lantern that stood on the street next to the Beales house. She leaned against it and sighed deeply, taking her cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and lighting it with the lighter from her jeans left front pocket.

After a few minutes of silent smoking Beca’s eyes widened suddenly as she realized what she had done. Oh my god, how could I have been so stupid?! She thought frantically as she searched her pockets for her phone. Finding it in her jeans, she immediately dialed her best friend’s number. “Pick up, pick up, pick up….” She muttered while tapping her left foot in a nervous pattern.

“Hey Becs, what’s up?”

“Oh my god Jesse, I just screwed up royally!”

“Um, okay? It’s only been two hours since I saw you at school, I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”

“Oh my god…” Beca only repeated and started breathing heavily.

“Becs, calm down.”

“I can’t! I screwed everything up! Chloe hates me and now she is probably already telling her parents to kick me out and then I’ll have to go back to the group home or worse, back to him and Marie will give up on me and I’ll have to change schools again and…” Her breathing got heavier until she couldn’t talk anymore. It felt like someone was sitting on her chest and crushing her lungs, the air she was taking in didn’t seem to reach her lungs. She felt like she would suffocate any moment now.

“Woah, wait Becs! Take deep breaths for me okay? In and out, in and out. Listen to my voice and follow my instructions okay? In and out Becs, in and out.” Jesse continued talking to the small brunette until her breathing finally returned to normal.

The two friends remained silent for a few minutes, using the time to calm down.

“Becs, what happened? You are scaring me here.”

Beca sat down on the sidewalk and leaned her back against the lantern. “I screwed up Jesse.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, I was pretty exhausted after today so I decided to lay down for a few minutes and I must have fallen asleep.” She thought back to her nightmare and noticed that her body was starting to tremble again. The brunette rammed her fingernails into her right arm that was holding the phone to her ear and tried to use the pain to push the memories from her nightmare back to where they came from. It worked.

“Anyway, I was having a bad dream and Chloe must have heard me and came in. I apparently forgot to lock the door again.”

“You are always locking your door, Becs.”

Beca sighed. “Yeah, apparently not here. After this, there is no way I will ever leave the door open again.”

“What happened then?”

“Well, she woke me up and I didn’t know it was her, so I panicked and kicked her in the gut before I ran to hide in a corner of my room.”

“You kicked her? Wait, that’s not important right now. What kind of nightmare was it to make you panic like that?”

“I’m not talking about that, Jesse. You know that. And that’s not the point. The point is, after I noticed that it was her in my room, I immediately went over to her and asked if she was alright and apologized for kicking her.”

“That’s good isn’t it? I’m sure Chloe won’t stay mad at you for kicking her if you already apologized.”

“Jesse! Let me finish, will you? The kicking wasn’t the problem. I feel bad about it, but I don’t think Chloe is the kind of person to stay mad because of an accident. The problem is the way I talked to her after that.”

When Beca didn’t continue talking, Jesse decided to help her along. “What were you two talking about?”

“She was asking about my nightmare. Who wouldn’t after witnessing that, right? So I told her I don’t want to talk about it. She tried to talk to me again but I stopped her. She eventually told me that she was respecting my boundaries and that she would be there if I wanted to talk to anyone.”

“That’s sweet of her.”

“No! Well, yes, but no! After that she suggested I go and see a shrink!”

“Um, why would she do that? And are you sure that that is what she said?”

“I don’t know! And yes, she said that if I didn’t want to talk to anyone I know, there was always the option of seeing a professional.”

“Um, Becs, that doesn’t sound like she was telling you to go and see a shrink. I think she was just concerned about you and told you about the different options.”

“But… okay, you’re probably right. I was angry and over the line. But she still won’t forgive me. I said some stuff that wasn’t fair. And it hurt her, I could see it in her eyes. She asked me to not tell anybody and I haven’t, but the second I got angry I used it to hurt her.”

“Just apologize. I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

Beca sighed. “I’m not too sure about that. I think I’ll pack my bags. They are going to kick me out sooner or later.”

“Don’t be stupid Beca. Apologize to Chloe and see what she’ll say. I don’t think she’ll kick you out.”

“But what if she does? I started liking it here. And now I loose my temper for a moment and I’m back at the beginning. I can’t do this anymore, Jesse! I always have to watch what I am saying in fear of what will happen if I offend someone too badly. I’m sarcastic and rude, but only if I know they can’t do anything to me. I’ve been to four different foster families and not one of them has worked out. Since the only common factor between those situations was me, it’s obviously my fault. That’s it, Jesse, I won’t do this anymore.”

“Wait, wait, wait, Beca, hold your horses, you aren’t going to do anything drastic, right? You won’t…. hurt yourself, right?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Of course not. That’s not what I meant, and I hope you know that I would never do something like that. I can’t handle pain very well.”

“I know for a fact that your head has been hurting today and you were able to hide that disturbingly well. I’m just worried Beca. Please don’t do anything without talking to me first, okay? The Beales are a good family. You can stay there until you are 18 and then you can do your own thing.”

“No Jesse, I’m out.”

“Woah, what do you mean, you’re out? What are you planning?”

“I can’t stay here. I’m old enough to find a job. I’ll take care of myself from now on.”

“Beca, no! You are taking this little fight way too seriously.”

“It’s not about the fight with Chloe, Jesse. I can’t continue like this. I’m always scared. Of everything! Of saying something wrong, of being too loud, of being too good in school, of being too bad in school, of eating too much, of sleeping too long. I don’t want this anymore Jesse. I want a place where I can be myself and where I can really relax for the first time in eight fucking years!”

“You can’t just run away Becs.”

“Watch me.”

“No no no, Beca, just sleep on it. We’ll talk about it tomorrow after school, okay? We’ll go and eat a burger after Bella’s practice tomorrow, okay? My treat.”

“Why would anything change in the next few hours? I can just start walking now and never come back.”

“No, if you really want to run away, you need to prepare. You need your clothes, your bag and a little food and money. You don’t have your bag with you, right?”

“No…”

“Well then. Go pack your bag and get some sleep. We’ll go tomorrow night.”

“We? No Jesse, you are staying here. I’m not getting you in trouble. You have a nice foster family and you like this school. You have something going on with Aubrey and I won’t stand in the way of you getting a good education and making something out of your life.”

“Then stay. I won’t let you go alone Becs.”

“Let’s talk about this tomorrow.”

Jesse grinned brightly. “Great. Just sleep on it and it won’t look so hopeless in the morning. Just promise me that you’ll come to school tomorrow.”

“I promise.” She sighed deeply. “Thanks Jesse. I’m not sure this is the best decision, but I’ll stay one more night.”

“That’s all I’m asking, thanks Becs.”

“”Yeah… It’s getting cold out here, I think I’ll go back inside.”

Jesse chuckled. “You do that. And maybe talk to Chloe? I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

“We’ll see. Good night weirdo.”

“Night Becs.”

Beca hung up the phone and looked to the left, following the street with her eyes. It would be so easy to just start walking and leave everything behind. Her right foot twitched but she decided to keep her promise to Jesse and turned around to start walking back into the house.

She walked past the kitchen and saw Claire standing in the kitchen preparing dinner.

“Hey Beca.”

“Hello Claire.” The little brunette said and tried walking past the door, but was stopped by Claire’s next words. “Are you okay?”

“Um, of course.”

“I haven’t been snooping or anything but I could see you standing outside and talking on your phone and you looked agitated. Is there anything I can do?”

A small smile managed to crawl on Beca’s face. “I’m fine. And no thank you. I’ll just get my clothes and wash them downstairs, okay?”

“Sure. I don’t understand why I shouldn’t wash your clothes but I respect your independence. If you have a problem, you can always come and talk to us, okay? We really want you to enjoy your time here.”

Beca nodded curtly. “Thanks. I’ll see you later.”

“Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, I’m not hungry. But thanks anyway.”

“Are you sure? Have you eaten already?”

“Yeah, Jesse handed part of his lunch off to me and I’m still stuffed.” Beca lied and finally made her way up the stairs back into her room.

She grabbed her bag and put all of her dirty clothes in it, closed the door behind her and walked down into the basement.

Beca quickly put all of her stuff in the washing machine and pressed a few buttons until the short program started washing her clothes. Deciding to wait until her clothes were finished washing, Beca sat down in a chair next to the dryer. She crossed her legs on the chair and leaned back, closing her eyes and enjoying the sound of the washing machine.

Not wanting to think about anything, she just sat there and waited. An hour later, a beeping sound alerted her to the fact that the washing machine was finished. Beca pressed a few buttons to turn the machine off and proceeded to put her wet clothes in the dryer. She started the machine and was about to sit back and wait another hour or two, when Jesse’s words came back to the front of her thoughts.

She sighed and went up the stairs again. She should really talk to Chloe and apologize. She didn’t want to leave this thing standing between them when she left tomorrow.

Arriving in front of the redhead’s door, Beca knocked lightly and waited until a soft ‘come in’ allowed her entrance.

Beca opened the door and saw Chloe lying on her bed, doing homework.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Chloe replied without looking up from her homework.

“Look, can we talk? I want to apologize to you about the things I said earlier.”

“You already apologized for kicking me.”

“Not that. I mean, yeah, I’m sorry about that too, but I mean the stuff I said to you after that. I shouldn’t have brought Friday night into the discussion just because I was angry. I’m sorry.”

“You are right, you shouldn’t have. That was a low blow, Beca.” Chloe said, still not looking at the brunette.

“Can you maybe look at me Chloe? I want to apologize properly.”

Chloe closed her eyes for a moment but sat up and turned around to look at Beca. “I’m listening.”

Beca put her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and smiled at the taller girl tiredly. “I’m sorry Chloe. I was upset about my nightmare and you were pushing my buttons with all your questions. Which I understand, I would have asked questions as well if I were you. But it’s a topic I don’t talk about and I was still a little shaken but that doesn’t excuse what I said. I’m sorry, I hope you can forgive me. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.”

Chloe sighed. “That was over the line Beca. But I can understand that you were upset and I was prying. But I was just worried about you. Why don’t we forget about it and move on? I don’t like holding grudges and I don’t want to fight with you.”

Beca let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and sent a small smile in Chloe’s direction. “Thank you Chloe. I don’t like fighting either.”

Chloe grinned. “Okay then. Want to do something together then? I was getting bored of moping and doing homework.”

The small brunette rolled her eyes. “Of course you were. Why don’t we work on our mixes?”

Chloe snorted. “Of course, I shouldn’t have expected anything different from you.”

Beca rose her left eyebrow. “Was that a no?”

“Definitely not.” The redhead said as she jumped up from her bed, took Beca’s right hand in her left and pulled the small brunette down the stairs.

 _Respecting boundaries, yeah right_ , Beca thought but didn’t make the effort to loosen Chloe’s grip.

They arrived in the basement and sat down in front of the laptop and mixing equipment when Chloe remembered something and she immediately slapped Beca’s arm.

“Hey!” the brunette said and rubbed her sore arm. She moved her chair a few inches from Chloe’s and looked at her with wide eyes. “What was that for?”

“You lied to my mom! You said that you had a big lunch because Jesse gave you some of his food. I was sitting right next to you so I know for a fact that that is not true. Why would you skip dinner? I’m pretty sure you are hungry.”

“I’m not. And I’m sorry for lying to your mom but she wouldn’t have let me skip if she knew I hadn’t eaten.”

“Damn right she wouldn’t have. I’ll go upstairs and heat you up some leftovers.”

Chloe was about to stand up when Beca stopped her. “No Chloe, it’s fine, I’m not hungry. It’s fine, I’ve gone to bed on less food.”

The redhead was about to say something to that, but stopped herself. She didn’t want to argue with Beca again. “Fine. But just for the record, you can eat as much as you want anytime you want. Okay?”

Beca nodded and turned around to the laptop.

The two of them spent the next three hours in the basement, until Chloe yawned loudly and decided to go to bed. Beca followed her, but stopped to pick up her clothes from the dryer. They said good night to each other and went into their rooms. Beca quickly turned the lock on her door – there was no way she would ever forget to lock her door again- and quickly put all of her belongings in her bag. The brunette brushed her teeth and finally went to bed. She wasn’t sure if she would sleep well, but she had to try. She was tired.

 

The next morning went without incident. Beca and Chloe ate a quick breakfast and made their way to school. Chloe told Beca that she would see her at lunch and that she was excited for Bellas practice before she ran off to Aubrey and Stacie who were already waiting for her.

Beca nodded at no one and made her way over to Jesse, Benji and Amy.

“Hey guys.”

She could see the big sigh of relief Jesse let out when he saw her.

“Hey Becs.”

“Morning Beca”

“Hiya shortstack. Ready for Bellas practice this afternoon?”

Beca rose her eyebrows. “You know about that?”

Amy nodded. “Yeah. Ginger has been talking about you non-stop. Well at least for the last week. That’s when I joined.”

“Huh. Well, it’s cool that you are part of the Bellas. If it gets too bad, you can sneak me out.”

Amy grinned widely. “You got it, shortstack. I have to go and talk to a few people, see you later. Come on Benji.”

“What? I don’t have anywhere to be.”

“Yes you do,” Amy stressed and pulled a confused looking Benji away.

Beca looked confused and Jesse chuckled. “They are not exactly subtle. Amy must have noticed that I wanted to talk to you in private.”

Beca just shrugged her shoulders. “Fine with me. What’s up dude?”

“What’s up? Beca! I was worried the whole night that I wouldn’t see you this morning and that I had to track you down until I found you in some resort in Florida. You can’t tell me stuff like yesterday and then come to me with ‘what’s up dude’.”

The little brunette patted Jesse’s arm. “I gave you a promise Jesse. I don’t break them easily. I said I would be here, and I am here. I apologized to Chloe and she accepted so I don’t have to have a guilty conscience when I leave. Everything is fine.”

Jesse groaned loudly. “No! Nothing is fine! You are planning on running away! That is illegal, Beca, they will find you and you’ll be in big trouble. And it won’t only be you in trouble. Marie will get questioned as well. She’s the one who should know if it gets too much and if you get in trouble it will be her fault.”

Beca dropped her head. “I don’t want to get her in trouble Jesse, but I’m done. I can’t continue like this anymore.”

Jesse grabbed both of her arms and pulled her closer to make her listen. She was squirming and he knew that grabbing her like that was a bad idea but he had to make her listen. “I will help you Beca. If it gets too much, come to me and you can be yourself. If you want to get away for a weekend, I’ll grab my savings and I’ll take you somewhere where nobody knows us and where you can relax. But running away is not the solution here Becs. Especially not now when you are living with the Beales. They are a nice family. You can finish school here and then we’ll both find a nice job and get away from Atlanta. Please Beca, think about it. I will go with you if I have to, but life is good at the moment. For both of us. Don’t run away from it because you are scared.”

“Let go of me Jesse.” Beca said expressionlessly and squirmed out of his grasp. “I’ll think about it and we’ll talk about this some more when you buy me that Burger later. But I don’t have any strength left Jesse. I can’t promise you anything.”

Jesse hung his head. “I understand. Let’s get to class then, okay? How’s your head by the way?”

“Hurting. Always hurting.”

“Becs?”

But Beca already left to go to her first class, leaving Jesse standing in the hallway.

 

The school day went over quickly and before Beca could prepare herself mentally, classes were over and Chloe walked with her to her first Bellas practice.

“This is going to be great, Becs!”

“Um, sure.”

Chloe stopped in front of the doors to their rehearsal space and turned around to look at Beca. “You don’t have to be here, if you don’t want to. I would really like it if you came but if it’s not something you want, you can go home and maybe try out for the track team in a few days.”

Beca shook her head and straightened her shoulders. “No, it’s fine. I said I would come and I’m going to. I’m just nervous.”

Chloe smiled brightly and nodded. “Okay. Don’t be nervous though, everyone is super nice.”

“Okay.”

With that, the redhead opened the doors and lead Beca into the room where a few people were already sitting on some chairs and talking amongst themselves.

“Hey guys!” Chloe greeted enthusiastically.

The girls turned around and greeted Chloe warmly. As soon as Chloe and Beca stood in front of the girls, everyone went quiet.

“So, as most of you already know, this is Beca. She wants to see if being part of the Bella’s is something she is interested in. Be nice to her.” Chloe winked and everyone started laughing.

“I’ll quickly introduce you guys, okay? You can talk to her later, but we have a lot to do today so I’m saving time.”

Everyone nodded and Chloe started introducing them. “So Becs, you obviously know Aubrey, Stacie and Amy. Then there is Cynthia Rose,” she pointed to a friendly looking black girl with red streaks in her dark hair, “Lilly,” she pointed to a shy looking asian girl with long straight black hair, “Jessica and Ashley” she pointed to a blonde and brunette girl who smiled slightly at Beca, “Flo”, she pointed to a small Spanish looking girl, “and lastly Emily.”, she pointed to a nervous looking tall girl with bright eyes and long dark hair.

“Um, it’s nice to meet you guys.” Beca said awkwardly and hoped that Chloe was finished with introductions and that she could sit down now. She didn’t like being the center of attention.

Everyone shouted their greetings until Aubrey cleared her throat.

“Well then, nice to see you here Beca. Let’s start practice. Why don’t we start with some cardio and then we’ll let Beca sing for a moment so we’ll know what we have to work with.”

Amy’s loud groan of ‘Why cardio?’ was ignored as well as Beca’s wide eyed and panicked look. The small brunette immediately looked at Chloe. “I have to sing?! In front of everyone?!”

Chloe shrugged. “Of course. We are an A Capella group. Singing is what we do. And we need to know what your voice sounds like, so we can use it in our arrangements.”

“But…” Beca said helplessly.

“I thought you knew that? Beca, I told you that we are an A Capella group.”

“Yeah, I know… but… well, I didn’t think I’d have to sing…”

Chloe chuckled. “Why did you think that?”

Beca shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Beale, Mitchell, do your cardio!” Aubrey shouted over to them when they remained by the chairs even though the other girls had already run two laps.

“Coming!” Chloe shouted and looked at Beca for a moment. “You can sit this one out because of your concussion, I’ll quickly remind Aubrey of that. See you in a bit.” She said and jogged over to Aubrey, had a few words with her and then started running laps around the room.

Aubrey came over to Beca a few seconds later and sat down next to her. “Sorry for that, I forgot for a moment. You can sit out until your doctor clears you, okay? But don’t think I’ll go easy on you, as soon as you’re back to a hundred percent you’ll run your laps just as everyone else.”

Beca nodded and looked at the other girls running around the room. “Thanks. Um, can I do my laps like Amy? That looks like fun.”

Aubrey furrowed her brows and searched for Amy for a moment. When she found her, she immediately got up and power walked to the blonde Australian. “Amy! What are you doing?! I said laps!”

“Yeah, you see, back in Australia, horizontal running is considered an Olympic sport and I won the bronze medal one year. I need to practice to get gold next year.”

Beca tuned the two arguing blondes out and watched the other girls running. They looked friendly and Beca hoped she would get along with them.

 _Wait, you don’t need to get along with them, you’re leaving, remember?_ Beca told herself a few seconds later.

Ten minutes later, the girls were finished running and Aubrey stood in front of them as they panted and drank their water.

“Good job, girls. Are you ready Beca?”

Beca’s eyes widened. “Um, not really? Can I maybe not do this?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Do you want to be a Bella or not?”

“Um, yes?”

“Was that a question?”

Beca cleared her throat and thought frantically. She really didn’t want to sing in front of everybody but she couldn’t think of a way out. _What the hell…_ she thought and decided to just sing. She would be gone soon enough, so nobody would care if she embarrassed herself now.

“Um, no. I’ll sing. Does it matter which song?”

Aubrey shook her head. “No. We just need to hear your voice and see what you can do so we know what to do with you.”

“Alright then,” Beca said and stood up from her chair.

Noticing Beca’s nervousness, Chloe decided to help her out a little. “Aubrey would you mind if I sang with her? We have the perfect mash up for this.”

Aubrey raised her eyebrows but shrugged. “Go ahead. I just need to hear her voice.”

“Cool.” Chloe turned to look at Beca. “Do you want to sing the 'Just the way you are / Just a Dream mash-up' we did last week with me?”

Beca let out a relieved sigh. “Yeah, thanks Chloe. Should I play the piano to accompany us?” the small brunette asked and pointed to the grand paino sitting in the corner of the room.

Chloe’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Oh, this is going to be aca-awesome!”

Beca furrowed her brows and mouthed ‘aca-what?’ but before she could ask her question, Chloe dragged her over to the piano and the other girls followed them eagerly, wanting to hear them sing.

The small brunette sat down on the piano bench and pressed a few notes to hear if the piano was in tune. Luckily it was.

She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them and looked at Chloe, giving her a tight nod.

Beca started pressing the keys on the piano gently, trying to loose herself in the music, trying to forget that she would sing in front of a lot of people.

Chloe started them off with the first few lines of 'Just the way you are' and a few moments later Beca started singing a few lines of 'Just a Dream', their voices fitting together perfectly. They continued singing, the songs merging into each other and the smiles on their faces growing. Beca's playing got stronger the longer they sang until the last few notes of the song came around and Beca stopped playing, ending the song A Capella style.

When Beca and Chloe stopped singing, a few seconds of silence fell over the room until Amy screamed. “Damn! You guys sound good together! Shorty, I didn’t know you had that kind of pipes in your small body. And you said you two did that mix? It sounded awesome!”

Chloe grinned. “Thanks Amy.” She turned around to look at Beca. “If I’d known that you could sing like that, I would have made you sing for me a lot sooner! And your playing skills are great Becs.”

Beca ducked her head and mumbled a quick thanks.

“Good job Beca. We can definitely work with that.” Aubrey complimented the little brunette.

“Yeah, you sounded great. Now back to that mix, can we use that?” Cynthia Rose said and all of the girls nodded.

Chloe shrugged. “Sure? Becs and I were just playing with my brother’s laptop and discovered his mixing software. Beca really has a talent. She knows what sounds good together before we listen to it. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Do you have more of those mixes?” Stacie asked.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, a few.”

“Can you bring them to our next practice? I’m sure we can make something out of it.” Stacie continued and the other girls nodded.

“Just a moment, ladies, what’s wrong with our current set list?” Aubrey intervened with a questioning look on her face.

“Um…” Amy said and looked around, trying to find help.

Chloe took a few steps in Aubrey’s direction and started talking. “Well, Aubrey, don’t you think our set list is a little outdated?”

Aubrey furrowed her brows. “But everybody loves the ladies of the eighties.”

Chloe nodded. “Yes, but maybe not all the time? I mean we can sing every song there ever was, why should we limit ourselves? I think it would be best to branch out a little more.”

Aubrey seemed to think about it very hard. She turned her head to look at the other Bellas. “Do you want to branch out more? Get a little diversity into our set list?”

Everyone nodded.

“Well then, why haven't you guys said anything sooner? I may be the captain but this is no monarchy. Your opinion matters just as much as my own.”

The other Bellas sat there stunned, not knowing what to say.

“You mean we could have changed the set list this whole time?!” Cynthia Rose finally asked.

Aubrey shrugged. “Of course. We are a team, we are deciding on stuff together.”

“Damn.” Cynthia Rose mumbled. “We could have gotten some R 'n' B and Hip Hop into our routine this whole time? Man, I've wasted my life with Mariah Carey... “

Everyone started chuckling. “Why don't you guys think about a few songs you want to do and Chloe will bring their mash-ups to our next practice. We'll vote on the songs we can learn this year.” Aubrey suggested and everybody agreed.

Beca was still sitting at the piano bench, surprised that everybody seemed to like her voice. The last people to hear her sing had always told her to shut up and be quiet.

“Okay ladies, let's start on some choreography.” Aubrey said then and the rest of practice was spent learning the choreography to 'The Sign'. Beca wasn't happy about the song choice and the huge amount of touching Chloe seemed to have to do to show her the moves, but she didn't complain. She was just happy that the Bellas seemed to be nice and that she didn't embarrass herself.

An hour later, practice was finally over and Chloe and Beca left the school together to find Jesse waiting for them at the entrance.

“Oh, hey Jesse. “Chloe said. “Are you waiting for someone?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I was waiting for Beca. We wanted to grab a Burger together.”

Chloe looked at Beca. “Oh! Yeah, sorry I forgot to tell you. I made plans with him yesterday. Would you mind going home without me? I'll be back in a few hours.”

The redhead nodded and started walking off. “Sure. I'll see you later then. Have fun you two.”

“Bye!” Beca shouted and turned around to look at Jesse.

“Okay then. Burgers?”

He grinned at her. “Burgers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh maaaaaan, this chapter is sooo long. But I managed to type it in one day! (Sorry work... I neglected you horribly...)  
> Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next chapter! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Just a quick info for later in the chapter. We have another phone conversation with Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie. So Chloe's lines will be in normal font, Aubrey in Italics and Stacie in Bold. Have fun :)

“So, do you still want to run away Beca?” Jesse asked as soon as they sat down in the diner.

Beca only nodded.

“Has Chloe told her parents to kick you out?”

“No. But it doesn't matter. I'll eventually make a mistake of some kind and then they'll kick me out.”

Jesse groaned loudly. “You don't know that! And do you really think the Beales would kick you out for breaking a glass or something like that? I don't really know them but I don't think they are that kind of people.”

“I don't think they will, but I can't take that chance.”

Jesse sighed deeply. “You aren't even considering my arguments. What do you expect to get from running away? You do know that they will catch you, right? You are sixteen years old and you don't have a plan. Or cash. You wouldn't get very far.”

Beca closed her eyes for a moment and let her head fall a few inches. She opened her eyes again and the pain that was reflected in them nearly took Jesse's breath away.

“I don't know what to do! I can't continue like this! This is all too much! You are right, the Beales are nice but who can guarantee me that they'll stay that way? I've thought I've been living with nice people before and it turned out it was the worst family out of all of them! I'm not strong enough to deal with it another time!” Tears had begun forming in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She knew that Jesse wouldn't judge her for crying but she was tired of feeling so weak all the time. She needed to feel strong for a moment and having the freedom to choose where to go seemed like a good way to start.

“I can't guarantee anything but if you can't trust the Beales, will you trust me? I promise you that you can come to me anytime you feel like it's getting too much. I want to help you Becs, please let me.”

“I don't know Jesse. I know that you're willing to help me but you can't help me with everything. Why do you insist that I stay here? I'll get out of here and after a few weeks you won't even remember your weird little friend from high school. It's better that way.”

Jesse wanted to shake the small brunette in front of him but he clenched his fists and reigned in his anger because he knew that Beca didn't react well to any kind of violence. But how dare she say something like that?! Like she didn't matter to him at all.

“Becs, I'm really angry with you right now. How dare you speak of yourself like that? Of course I'd miss you! You are my best friend! I love you like a little sister! My life is better with you in it, please don't say otherwise.”

Beca finally lost the battle with her tears and they slowly started streaming down her cheeks. “I know that you won't forget me Jesse, but it's easier for me to pretend you will just continue your life without me. I don't want this anymore.”

“I understand that it's hard, but please try! It's already December, if you run away now, I'm scared to find out that you died in an abandoned alley somewhere because you froze to death. Do you really want that?!”

Beca wiped her tears away and tried to calm down a little. “No. I don't want to die, we already established that. But I can't wait until summer!”

“Why not?! Your life is good here! I get that you are scared, but you can't act this irrationally just because of your fear.”

“Because I'm scared that I won't want to leave in the summer!”

The two of them hadn't really been screaming, it was more of a loud whispered conversation, but Beca's outburst had sounded like a gun shot in Jesse's ears. After a few seconds of silence while Jesse gaped at Beca, mouth hanging open and eyes wide, the little brunette sat back against her chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She would have preferred to keep that to herself but now that it was out there, she decided to stick to it.

“Why the hell is that a problem?!” Jesse finally asked, when the silence was getting too much for him.

Beca only shrugged. “I don't want to get disappointed again. I already like the Beales way too much. If I continue to stay there, I'll like them even more and when they eventually kick me out, my heart will be broken. I don't want that. And the things I told you earlier are also true. I'm scared of everything.”

“I don't want to belittle your fears, but the greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. You can't live like that.

Beca snorted. “Where did you get that? One of your stupid movies?”

Jesse blushed a little but didn't let Beca distract him. “Shut up. And I read it online somewhere. I think it was from some guy named Hubbard or something. Anyway, he's right.”

Beca sighed deeply. “I know you have a point but what should I do? I can't sit there and wait for something to go wrong. That would destroy me.”

“I'll help you. Chloe will help you. Amy and Benji will help you. Marie will help you. Even Mr and Mrs Beale if you ask them too. You have so many people that care about you, Beca. Let them help you. Please!”

“I don't know how...”

“Just talk to us. Choose one of us and tell them something small. It can be anything, like how you like your cornflakes or your coffee. Just talk to one of us and start getting comfortable around us. I promise you, we will be there for you. I just don't want you to make a decision that you'll regret for the rest of your life.”

“It sounds so easy when you say it like that. There are things I can't talk about Jesse.”

Jesse shook his head and held out his right hand. Beca only hesitated for a moment before she grabbed it and was rewarded with a warm squeeze from him. “You don't have to. I just want you to be comfortable around the people here. I know that you aren't even really comfortable with me and I want to change that.”

Beca was about to protest but a small squeeze from Jesse's hand reminded her of her hesitation a minute earlier. Jesse must have noticed it.

“I know that you try to be but you're not. You don't talk to me about everything and that's fine. I should have seen that something serious was going on with you last summer but I was too distracted to notice. I'm sorry and I'm still beating myself up over that but now that we're going to the same school, live near each other and both have Marie as a social worker, it will be easier. I promise I'll be there for you Becs. Just don't throw away this chance.”

Beca sighed heavily. “I don't blame you for last summer, Jesse. You have asked if anything was wrong and I always told you I was fine. It's hard to catch someone in a lie while talking to them on the phone. And we haven't seen each other often. It's okay, I'm fine now. Don't beat yourself up over it. But I don't know how to talk to people. I mean, yeah, I obviously know how to 'talk' to people, but I mean about important stuff. Opening up isn't something I do.”

Still holding her hand, Jesse held out his other hand and Beca immediately grabbed it. “Just the way you did just now. The way you did yesterday over the phone. You can talk to people, you're just too scared to try it.”

“Okay...” Beca whispered.

Jesse's eyes widened. “Okay? You mean it? You'll stay?”

Beca nodded. “Yeah. I'll give the Beales a shot. I hope they won't disappoint me. I couldn't handle it if they did.”

“You could. I'm sure of that. But you won't have to, I promise.”

“I hope so.”

Jesse leaned back in his chair and let out a huge sigh of relief after releasing Beca's hands. “Oh man, I'm so glad. I was really worried I'd have to pull out the big guns. I'm so happy you're staying, you're my best friend, Becs. I wouldn't know what to do without you.”

The little brunette rolled her eyes. “Don't be dramatic. And what do you mean by big guns?”

The smile left Jesse's face and he looked at his best friend seriously. “I wouldn't have liked it but if I had to, I would have told Marie what you were planning. Not immediately, I stand by my word that I would have gone with you for a while and I would have spent the entire time trying to convince you to come back, but if I couldn't talk sense into you, I would have called her.”

Beca's eyes had widened. “You would have betrayed me like that? I thought you were my friend!”

“I am. And that is why I would have done it. This isn't some harmless prank or a little secret. You would be toying with your life and with your future. I couldn't let you do that.”

“And what would she have done? She would have dragged me back screaming and would have put me in another group home. That's the last thing I want.”

“You won't have to if you just stay with the Beales. And Beca, you have to understand that I'm worried about you. I'm glad I don't have to make the decision to call her or not.”

“I get that you are worried about me but ratting me out to Marie wouldn't be cool. You are lucky that I already decided to stay here. I would be seriously mad if you had actually threatened me with that.”

“I know. And I'm sorry. Just promise me that you'll stay with the Beale's for the next few months. And that you'll come to me or someone else if things get too much.”

Beca rolled her eyes. “I promise. Now get me that Burger, I'm starving over here!”

Jesse chuckled lightly to himself. He was seriously glad that he had been able to talk sense into his best friend.

As soon as Beca walked through the front door of the Beales house, she was met with a face full of red curls and two arms squeezing her tightly. She immediately froze up and didn't move, afraid any kind of movement would make things worse for her.

“Um...”

Chloe let go of her after a few seconds with an apologetic smile on her face. “I'm sorry. I thought you left us.”

Beca's eyes widened and she looked left and right, checking if Chloe's parents were around. When she didn't find anyone, she grabbed one of Chloe's hands and dragged her upstairs into her room. When both girls were in the room, she shut the door firmly behind her.

Beca was standing next to the door and looked at Chloe who was sitting on Beca's bed with a confused expression on her face.

“Um, why did you think I had left?”

Chloe sighed. “Well, it started raining half an hour ago and I went through the rooms to check if any of the windows were left open. When I came into your room, I just checked to see if your window was open and wanted to leave immediately but I couldn't see any of your stuff lying around. So - and I'm sorry for prying but I was worried – I came in here and looked around quickly. I didn't find any of your stuff, not even a toothbrush in the bathroom so I got scared that you had left. I was telling myself that you told me that I'll see you later but I was still worried. I was about to call you when you came through the door. I'm sorry for jumping you like that, I was just so relieved to see you.”

Beca had moved from the door to her desk chair and had sat down while Chloe had talked. She was feeling confused after the redhead had stopped talking.

“Why were you relieved? I thought you would be glad if I left this house. I mean, yes we've been getting along but you weren't very happy with me when I first came to live with you guys. I know that we've talked about it and everything is fine now, but I thought you would be glad to have me out of your hair.”

Chloe had started shaking her head while Beca was talking.

“No. I'm glad you're here and we've been getting along great these past few days. I would have been really sad to see you go. But that doesn't matter because you're not going anywhere, right?”

Beca was hesitating for a moment, which didn't go unnoticed by Chloe. “Wait, did you really plan on running away?”

The small brunette couldn't meet the redhead's eyes so she just shrugged. After seeing this, Chloe's eyes went wide. “Beca! You can't! I mean, why would you want to leave? Don't you like it here? Have I done something wrong? I swear I'm sorry if I did...”

“No, you didn't do anything wrong Chloe. And I like it here just fine.”

Chloe's eyes had turned sad and she looked at Beca pleadingly. “But why would you want to leave then? I thought things were getting better...”

Beca sighed deeply. She didn't know what to tell Chloe. She didn't want to go through the discussion she had with Jesse earlier again and even though talking to Chloe didn't seem like a bad idea, Beca couldn't quite imagine the other girl's reaction. What if she freaked out and told her parents? She didn't want them to call Marie and then she would be monitored much more closely. Deciding that reassuring the redhead that she wasn't going anywhere – for the time being – she put a small smile on her face and faced Chloe.

“I'm not going anywhere, don't worry. I had a talk with Jesse and I'm fine now.”

“But all your stuff was gone. So you planned to leave, right?”

Beca sighed. “Chloe, I'm here, aren't I? Why don't we talk about something else?”

“But I want to know if there is something I can do to help you feel more comfortable here. Since you aren't answering my question I guess the answer is yes and you would get in big trouble if you really decided to leave one day. You're still a minor and the police would find you immediately.”

Rolling her eyes, Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Not you too. I've already heard all that from Jesse today, I don't need it from you too. Let it go, okay? I'm still here.”

“Beca...”

“No, no Beca. Let's talk about something else.”

Deflating visibly, Chloe nodded sadly. “Okay. You'll get your way with this one. But this isn't over. So how did you like Bellas practice?”

Beca slightly relaxed after Chloe had agreed to let it go. She really didn't want to listen to all the arguments why she shouldn't – couldn't – leave again. “It was better than I expected. I mean, the girls were nice and if Aubrey is really going to change the set list, it could be fun.”

“See?! I knew you would like it!” Chloe said excitedly, slightly jumping up and down on Beca's bed.

Beca rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you were right. It was okay. We'll see how it will turn out. I don't want to be rude but I really have some homework to do...”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry for bothering you. See you at dinner?”

“I just ate a burger with Jesse. I'm stuffed.”

Chloe's hopeful expression fell slightly. “Oh. Well, why don't you come and sit with us anyway? I think it would be nice.”

Beca was thinking about it for a moment but the pleading expression in the redhead's eyes convinced her to agree. “Okay. But I'm not eating anything.”

Chloe's smile returned. “You don't have to. See you later.” With that, she stood up and left Beca's room, firmly closing the door behind her.”

The little brunette took a deep breath and got up to lay down on her bed. Talking was exhausting. People were exhausting. And her damn head was still hurting.

After five minutes of doing absolutely nothing, she decided to get started with her work. It hadn't been a lie that she had homework to do. And if she really wanted to stay here and possibly graduate, she had to put in some work.

 

Chloe had returned to her room after leaving Beca's and sat down on her bed, legs crossed. The smile she had been wearing as she left the smaller girl's room had long since turned into a frown. Deciding to call her best friends, Chloe searched for her phone and dialed Aubrey's number.

_“Aubrey Posen. Hello Chloe.”_

“Oh my god, please answer your phone like a normal person!”

_“I thought I did? I acknowledged that I knew it was you on the phone...”_

“I'll never get used to this. Whatever, that's not important right now. Hang on a second, I'll call Stacie as well.”

**“Hi Chloe!”**

“See? That's how you answer your phone Bree.”

**“Hey Bree!”**

_“But no one knows if it's really you on the phone if you don't tell them. Hello Stacie.”_

**“Um, is this a bad time? What are we talking about?”**

“We're talking about Aubrey's weird way of answering her phone. Seriously, I was calling your cell phone, who else would answer that thing? Answering with your name on the land line is okay, but not on your cell phone.”

**“Just let her be Chlo. If she likes it, let her do it. I think it's hilarious.”**

_“What's that supposed to mean?”_

“Okay stop! I called you guys for a reason.”

_“Are you okay Chloe?”_

**“Is this about Friday night?”**

“Um no. It's about Beca.”

**“We'll get to Beca in a minute. Seriously Chloe, what happened at the party?”**

“Nothing.”

**“I don't believe you.”**

_“Yeah, me neither. Seriously Chloe, Stacie told me your reactions on Saturday and I've noticed some odd behavior as well. Please talk to us.”_

“It was stupid and nothing happened. I'm fine.”

_“You can't say 'It was stupid' and 'nothing happened' in the same sentence. The 'it' implies that something did happen.”_

Chloe groaned loudly. “Bree!”

**“It's true. You cried on Saturday so something was obviously wrong. Now spill, we're getting worried.”**

“Okay! So Justin was getting a little too friendly for my liking again and Beca scared him off. We were tired so we took a cab home. Nothing happened.”

_“Chloe! What did he do?! I swear he'll wish he had never been born when I'm through with him! I already told him to stay away from you once, he didn't listen so he totally deserves what he's gonna get when I see him tomorrow!”_

“Bree, no. Come on, nothing happened. Beca already talked to him and he stayed away from me the last two days. I think he learned his lesson.”

**“We're worried Chloe. Please tell us what happened.”**

Chloe was trying to stay strong, but the worried tones in her best friends voices were getting to her. She sighed deeply and decided to just tell them. They would have figured it out eventually. She didn't leave out any details and talked about the beginning of the party, how Justin approached her outside, how Beca saved her and how she comforted her later that night. Aubrey and Stacie were silent the whole time, only gasping occasionally and cursing under their breaths repeatedly.

When Chloe was finished, nobody said anything for the next few moments.

**“Chloe...”**

“I'm fine now. He won't do it again.”

_“That was sexual assault. Why haven't you gone to the police with this?”_

“And what was I supposed to tell them? That he grabbed me a little and kissed me while he was drunk at a high school party? They probably would have sent me home claiming I was drunk and confused and wanted it too. No, I may go to the police if something happens again but I'm done with talking about Friday night. I need to talk to you guys about Beca.”

_“This is serious Chloe. Please tell us if anything happens again. Why didn't you tell us before, don't you trust us?”_

“No, it's not like that. I was ashamed and didn't want to think about it. I thought you guys would think I was weak for letting something like that happen again.”

**“Why would you think that? Chloe, we've been best friends for years now, we wouldn't have said anything. We would have helped you and maybe kicked some ass along the way. You can talk to us about anything. Please remember that.”**

_“Yes. We love you Chloe.”_

“I'm sorry. I was just scared that you would think different of me.”

**“We would never do that. Regardless of what you might have done. We'll always have your back.”**

“Thanks guys. I promise I'll talk to you if something happens again, okay? Can I please talk to you about Beca now?”

_“If you must...”_

“Bree!”

_“Yeah, yeah, what happened?”_

**“Is it her head?”**

“No. Well, I think it's still hurting her but this is about something else. I think she planned to run away today.”

**“She what?!”**

_“Seriously?”_

**“But she is there now? Or why did you say she planned to run away?”**

“Yeah, she's still here. I think Jesse managed to convince her to stay.”

_“How did you find out? I doubt she would have told you.”_

“Well...” Chloe said and then continued to tell them what had happened in Beca's room earlier.

_“She never really answered your question. But all the evidence points to her wanting to run away. Do you know why? I mean, it's probably hard in a new family and everything but from what you've told us, I thought you were getting along well.”_

“I thought so too. And she said that she liked my family. I don't know what her problem is. She wouldn't tell me.”

**“What if you asked Jesse?”**

“I don't really know him. And that would be going behind Beca's back and I don't want to do that. Why don't you ask him, Bree?”

_“Me? Why?”_

Stacie snorted. **“Oh come on, Posen, we know what happened Friday night.”**

“Yeah. We still need to talk about that by the way.”

_“We already talked on Saturday morning. There is nothing more to discuss.”_

“There is. I talked to Jesse and he said you definitely weren't drunk enough to forget what happened. And he said he asked you more than once if you were sure and you said yes. So spill, Bree, do you like him?”

_“You talked to him?! Why?!”_

“I was in the room while Beca called him and then she put him on speaker.”

_“She knows too?!”_

“Jesse would have told her anyway. They are best friends.”

_“Oh my god...”_

**“Come on Bree, how was it?”**

_“I don't remember....”_

**“Of course you do. You had like one or two beers that night. I was with you pretty much the whole time. I even saw you dance and leave with Jesse.”**

_“Why didn't you stop me?!”_

**“You looked comfortable and as I said earlier, you didn't have much to drink. I thought you could make your own decisions. And Jesse is a great guy, he wouldn't have taken advantage of you. But I wasn't expecting you two to sleep together. I thought you wanted to make out for a little while or something.”**

“Be honest with us, Bree. Do you like him and are just embarrassed now? Or was it really a mistake?”

_“Um... Well, I guess he isn't so bad. And he was really sweet.”_

**“So you do remember!”**

_“Of course I remember. I would have never forgiven myself if I didn't remember my first time.”_

“How was it?”

_“Um, great?”_

**“Was that a question?”**

_“No. It was good, okay? He was gentle and sweet and loving. He took care of me and was very considerate.”_

“That's great, isn't it? Where is your problem? And why did you say you didn't remember?”

_“I was scared. I mean, yes, Jesse is a nice guy, but do I really like him that much? I mean, I haven't really talked to the guy more than a few times. I think I rushed into things. I don't really regret it but I just don't know where to go from here.”_

**“Why don't you take him out on a date?”**

_“He is supposed to ask me.”_

“How is he going to do that when you don't answer your phone?”

_“How do you even know that?”_

“Jesse.”

_“Ugh. Fine. I'll talk to him. But I don't even know if he likes me back. It would be so awkward if he said no._

“He wouldn't. He really likes you.”

_“He does?”_

“Yeah, you would know that if you just talked to the guy!”

_“Okay okay, sorry, I'll talk to him. Weren't we talking about Beca a few minutes ago? Let's talk about her again.”_

**“Nice way to change the topic Bree.”**

_“Shut up.”_

“What should I do about the Beca situation? I'm afraid she will just be gone when I don't pay attention for a minute.”

_“Why is this bothering you so much? I mean, yes, Beca seems to be a nice girl but you've only known her for a little more than a week. I have never seen you get attached to a person so quickly.”_

“I don't know. I just like her. She's great to be around and we always have fun. Well, we have fun when we don't argue but even the arguing is fun. I just don't want her to leave. And even if I wasn't thinking about what I wanted, I still didn't want her to go since she could very well ruin her future if she ran away.”

_“Don't tell me you have a crush on her Chloe Beale?!”_

“What? Nooo! Why would you even think that? I do have a boyfriend, you remember him?”

**“We do, but I'm not too sure you do. When was the last time you hung out with him?”**

“Of course I remember him! And it wasn't that long ago!”

**“Didn't you want to break up with him a few days ago?”**

“Well yes...”

**“And?”**

“And what?”

**“Have you thought about a way to do that?”**

“Not really. I was kinda busy...”

**“With Beca.”**

“No! Well, yes but she has a concussion! And she's still new here, I'm just helping her.”

**“If you say so. Do you still want to break up with him?”**

“Yes. I'm just not into him anymore.”

_“Then tell him.”_

“Now?!”

_“Why not? What do you want to wait for? Christmas? It would be much worse if you did it on the holidays.”_

“But...”

_“But what?”_

“Ugh, fine! I'll text him and ask if he's home, if he is, I'll go there and tell him that I want to break up and then I'll quickly walk home again and eat dinner with my parents and Beca. Short and painless, right?”

**“Um, I'm not too sure it's going to work like that but we'll see. Call us when you get back!”**

“I will. Okay then, I'll text him now. Talk to you guys later?”

**“Of course!”**

_“Good luck Chloe.”_

Thanks, bye!”

**“Bye!”**

_“Bye!”_

After ending the phone call with her friends, the redhead shot a quick text to Tom, asking if he was home. While she was nervously waiting for a reply, she decided to actually start with the little homework she had. She was just about to write down the first answer to one of her math questions, when a ding on her phone told her that she had a message.

She immediately closed her books and looked at her phone. Tom had replied that he was home and that she should come over. He had also called her babe and sent her a winking smiley. Once upon a time Chloe had liked the way the pet name had sounded in Tom's voice but now the cheesy name and the winking smiley caused her to frown. If she hadn't already made up her mind about breaking up with Tom, she would have definitely noticed that something wasn't right in that moment.

Chloe sat up from her bed and grabbed her jacket. She went downstairs to put on some shoes, only to come face to face with her mom.

“Woah, hey mom.”

“Hey sweetie, are you going somewhere?”

“Um yeah, but not long. I think I'll be back for dinner, how long do I have?”

“About 45 minutes. Where are you going this late?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “It's just past six, so it's not late.”

“Sweetie, just tell me where you are going. I just want to know where you are.”

“I'm going to Tom's house. I won't be gone long, don't worry.”

“Is everything all right between you two? I haven't seen him in a few weeks.”

Not wanting to get into a discussion about her relationship with her mom, Chloe hugged her quickly and was already halfway out of the door as she called “Everything is fine” in her mother's direction. Claire only shook her head with a smile as she watched her daughter running down the porch.

 

Chloe returned home an hour later and found her parents and Beca already sitting at the dinner table, just about to start eating. Well her parents were, Beca was just looking around nervously and nursing a glass of water.

“There you are sweetie! I'm glad you made it, sit down, I'm just about to serve dinner.” Claire told her daughter and turned back around to get the food from the stove.

Chloe sat down with a quick “Hey mom, dad, Beca.” and placed a small fake smile on her face when she looked at her dad.

“So, how was work?”

“Oh it was fine, nothing too interesting happened. Just like always. How was your day?”

Chloe shrugged. “Okay I guess. Bellas practice was fun, right Becs?” She turned around to look at Beca expectantly. The brunette was watching her with a calculating look on her face.

“Um, yeah, it was fun.”

“Oh yeah, you were thinking about joining the Bellas, right? That's great Beca!” Claire said as she put the food on the table and started filling up three plates.

Beca must have told mom that she ate already, Chloe mused.

“Um, yes.” Beca answered slowly, not really sure which reaction Claire expected.

“Do you think you will join them? Chloe told us that it's a lot of fun.”

Beca shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, I need the credits and it looks like fun. Might as well try it.”

“That's great.” Claire said and turned her face around a little to start a conversation with her husband about his day.

Beca used the opportunity to lightly touch Chloe's arm to get her attention. “Dude, are you alright?”

Chloe turned around and looked at Beca, still wearing the fake smile from earlier. “Of course, why do you ask?”

“You're totally lying to me. You've been crying, haven't you?” Beca whispered quietly, not wanting Andrew and Claire to listen in.

Chloe's eyes widened at Beca's question and she quickly looked at her parents to see if they had heard Beca's words. “I'm fine, let's not talk about this right now, okay?”

“Later?”

Chloe rolled her eyes but eventually agreed. “Fine.”

Beca nodded shortly and turned her attention back to her glass of water. She didn't really know why she was so concerned with the redhead but when she had noticed that Chloe had been crying, she immediately grew worried and wanted to find out what had happened.

The sound of Chloe's parent's conversation accompanied them for the next two minutes until Claire turned her attention back to the girls. “Oh, before I forget. Beca, I talked to Marie today, I invited her to dinner tomorrow evening, is that okay?”

Beca shrugged. “Sure. It's your house.”

“It's your house too and I want you to feel comfortable. Marie told me she already talked to you but I want to make sure you're fine with it.”

“Don't worry about me. I'm fine with it, Marie is nice to have around.”

Claire's smile widened. “Great! I think it would be fun for us to have a nice talk over a delicious meal.”

“Oh, are we having take out tomorrow?” Andrew suddenly asked his wife.

She quickly turned around to glare at him. “Andrew Beale, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?!”

Chloe and Andrew were laughing hard by now, enjoying the affronted look on Claire's face.

“Calm down, mom, dad was just making fun of you. Your cooking is great.”

“Not funny you two. You never complained before.” Claire had crossed her arms in front of her chest, slightly glaring at her daughter and husband.

“Oh come on mom, don't play offended, I can see that you are smiling.” Chloe said, a real smile settling over her features.

“Okay okay, let's just finish eating. Beca, did you think about our clothes offer again? I know that Chloe got you a shirt but you still need some clothes.”

“Um, it's fine. I really don't need more clothes.” Beca replied after her shoulders had tensed up slightly.

Claire only rolled her eyes. “We've had this discussion before, Beca. We're happy to give you some money. But if you really don't want any new clothes, how about you take some of Chloe's old stuff? She kicked them out of her closet a few weeks ago and we haven't thrown them away yet. I mean, we would be happy to buy you some new things but I can see that you aren't really comfortable with that.”

“Does it really mean so much to you? They are just clothes, why are you always bringing them up?” Beca asked, a little confused as to why the clothes were such a big deal.

“Yes, it means a lot to us. Just take some of Chloe's stuff. Please.”

“Fine. If it makes you happy.” Beca reluctantly agreed after thinking about it for a while. If Chloe didn't want the clothes anymore and if they were already in the house, the Beales won't take them away, right?

“Great! I'll show them to you after dinner.” Chloe told Beca happily, smiling widely at the younger girl.

“Um. Sure.” Beca replied, unsure if that was a good idea. But she wanted to talk to Chloe, so she didn't really have a choice.

The rest of the dinner was spent with comfortable conversation and fifteen minutes later, Beca found herself sitting on Chloe's bed as the redhead was searching her closet for the bag with the discarded clothes.

After Chloe had found the bag, she turned around with a grin and showed the bag to Beca, smiling victoriously.

“Um Chloe?”

“Yeah?”

“Why have you been crying earlier?”

Chloe's smile dropped a little, but she didn't let thoughts about Tom ruin her good mood. “It was nothing. I broke up with Tom earlier and he wasn't happy with me. He said some mean things but he was upset, I expected something like it. It's still not something you like to hear. And I get emotional very quickly.”

Beca furrowed her brows. “Why did you break up with him? Weren't you getting along? I mean you even gave up playing the guitar because he told you to. I thought you liked him.”

Chloe's eyes widened. “You remember that?”

Beca snorted. “Of course, that's only been a week ago.”

“Oh. So you actually listened when I talked to you?”

“Of course. Why wouldn't I? I think it's rude to not listen to somebody when they are talking. Which doesn't mean I listen to everyone who is talking to me, but I always listen when you talk.”

“Aw, thank you Becs!” Chloe was grinning widely again. She wanted to hug Beca but she knew that that wouldn't go over well.

“So?”

“So what?”

“Why did you break up with him?”

Chloe sighed and sat down next to Beca on her bed. “Our relationship wasn't working. And I wasn't happy with him. So I ended it.”

“And are you okay with that?”

The redhead nodded. “Yeah. I'm afraid what the people at school will say tomorrow but I think it's better like this. Of course, I'm a little sad, I've been dating him for a few months, but I don't love him.”

“He was a douche anyway.”

“Hey!” Chloe said, acting affronted. “You don't even know him.”

Beca rolled her eyes, knowing that Chloe was just acting. “I don't need to. He told you to give up on something you love because he was feeling neglected. That's not a person I want to associate with. And you shouldn't either.”

Chloe lifted an eyebrow. “You are already telling me what to do, huh?”

“Um no. Sorry. But you know that I am right.”

The older girl sighed. “Yeah, I know. Anyway, I think I'll be feeling down for the next two days, but after that I should be back to normal. Now, why don't we look at some on these clothes?”

Beca scrunched up her nose. “Do we have to? I'll just look through them tomorrow or something.”

“Nooo, come on Beca, let's look at them together? I won't make you try them on, I promise.”

“You promise?”

Chloe nodded quickly.

Beca sighed and deflated a little. “Okay, if you insist. But only because I want to cheer you up.”

“Great!”

The next hour was spent going through the bag of discarded clothes and Chloe's closet, trying to find things that Beca was actually willing to wear. Beca would never admit it out loud, but she actually had fun talking about clothes with Chloe.

The little brunette didn't notice it but she went to bed with a smile for the first time in a long time that night.


	16. Chapter 16

The next evening Marie came to visit. Claire welcomed her at the door and brought her into the dining room where Beca and Andrew were already sitting.

“Hello Beca, Andrew.” Marie said with a smile and shook Andrew's hand. She smiled at Beca and the little brunette smiled back. That's one thing Marie hadn't expected to happen so soon. When she had met Beca, the girl had been closed off and wary of everyone. She rarely smiled and was very suspicious of her.

Marie had read the file. She knew that Beca had a very good reason for not trusting social workers but she had wanted to change the girl's mind. She really cared for every single one of her kids. And they were hers, even if her superiors told her that she shouldn't call them 'her kids' countless times before.

“Nice to see you again, Marie. I hope you are hungry, Claire cooked enough to feed a small army.” Andrew said with a smile and motioned for Marie to sit down. She chose to sit down next to Beca but not before asking if she could help with something. Andrew only shook his head and told her that Beca and him had also asked to help in the kitchen but Claire and Chloe had kicked them out.

“So, Beca, how's school?”

Beca only rolled her eyes. “Fine. I actually like this school.”

“Oh? That's great. Do you want to tell me about it?”

The brunette snorted. “I'm not five, Marie. School has been fine and if anything interesting happens, you'll probably hear it from Jesse. That boy loves you way too much.”

Marie shrugged. “Well, what can I say, I'm awesome.”

“And really modest as well.”

Marie shrugged and winked at Beca. “I am when I need to be.”

When it seemed like Beca wouldn't continue the conversation, Andrew started a conversation about her work with Marie. Beca didn't pay them any attention.

She was busy thinking about everything. Again. Life was great at the moment but she didn't trust it.  
Before she could sink into her thoughts the door to the kitchen was kicked open and Claire and Chloe walked into the dining room with steaming plates full of food. Everybody was about to stand up and help but a surprisingly stern glare from Claire caused them to sit down again quickly.

"Hey Marie!" Chloe said with a smile as she sat down across from Beca when all the dishes had been put on the table.

"Hello Chloe, how are you?"

"Great, thanks. What about you? Is your work keeping you busy?"

Marie nodded as Claire dealt out the food for everyone. "Yes, I've got a lot to do. But I love it so you won't hear me complaining."

"Why did you come here then?" Beca muttered under her breath, not intending anybody to hear her.

"What?" Marie turned her head to look at Beca who stopped shoving her food around her plate when she noticed that everybody was watching her.

"What?"

"Why did you say that? I thought you didn't mind this dinner."

Beca looked at her wide eyed. "I don't. I was just wondering why you took time out of your day just to eat with us if you're so busy. Just forget I said anything."

"No Beca, I told you that I like the Beales and a dinner sounded fun. It's not work for me."

"Hm."

"Do you have a problem with me being here? I can go if you want."

"No, don't mind me. I don't have a problem with it."

"Okay then. I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?"

"Do you want to go present shopping with me tomorrow? I still don't have anything I need and I thought it would be nice if you came with me."

Beca narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

Marie snorted. "Because I don't want to go alone? What kind of question is that?"

The small brunette rolled her eyes. "I meant why me?"

"Why not?"

"Don't you have any friends that can go with you?"

Marie's eyes widened as she looked at Beca with a playfully hurt expression on her face. "Woah, rude! Of course I have friends. But I want to go with you. You could just say no if you don't want to go."

Beca shook her head. "It's fine. I'll go with you if you want me to." She felt pretty safe with Marie and she allowed herself to talk back a little but she wasn't at the stage where she would just refuse something that Marie wanted her to do yet. Even if she didn't want to go. Another shopping trip didn't sound like fun, especially after the way the last one had ended.

"Great! I'll pick you up after school, okay?"

Beca nodded and continued playing with her food. She wasn't really hungry.

The rest of the dinner was spent with Marie and the Beales talking about random stuff while Beca remained silent for most of it. When Claire and Andrew had said goodbye to her and after Chloe and Beca had brought the dishes into the kitchen where Claire told them that she would take care of them, the two girls went upstairs. Before Beca could vanish into her room, the redhead spoke up.

"Beca?"

"Hm?"

"I'm not tired yet. Want to talk?"

Beca furrowed her brows. "About what?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Stuff. I don't know. I'm sure we'll find a topic. Want to come to my room? I promise I won't force you to try on more clothes."

The small brunette thought about it for a moment but eventually agreed and followed the cheerful redhead into her room. She sat down on the desk chair while Chloe made herself comfortable on her bed.

When Chloe didn't say anything for a minute, Beca sighed and started the conversation. "So. What do you want to talk about?"

Chloe grinned. "Jesse."

"Jesse? Why?"

"Because he is your best friend and because he likes one of my best friends. What is he like?"

"Why are you asking me? You know him."

Chloe groaned. "Not like you though. I know that he is quite intelligent and rather nice at school. I know that he likes Bree. That's about it."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"How did you two meet?"

"I met him in my first group home."

"Oh? When was this? And wait, he's a foster kid as well?"

Beca sighed. Should she tell Chloe? She didn't like talking about her past but Jesse had always been an exception. Deciding to take a leap of faith, Beca started telling Chloe about her first meeting with Jesse.

"Yes he is. I'm surprised you don't know that. But I guess you haven't really talked to him before I came here. We were both 8 years old. He had been in the group home for a month before I joined him there. I didn't really talk to anybody there but he made it his mission to make me smile or something. One day, about two weeks after I started living in the group home, he told me to meet him at one of the windows in the back of the house as soon as it turned dark. I wanted to ignore him but my curiosity was stronger than my common sense. So I met up with him when it got dark and he told me that he had a surprise for me."

Beca ignored the cute 'aw' that came from Chloe's direction.

"Anyway, he climbed out of the window and asked me to follow him. I still don't know why I did that, but I'm eternally grateful that I did. He led me to a fair and told me that he wanted to make me smile. He hadn't seen me smile even once in the two weeks that we've known each other and he wanted to change that. Even though he didn't know my story, he wanted to show me that there was still a little happiness and fun in the world even if it didn't look like it from my perspective. So he walked with me and told me everything he knew about the fair. I didn't have any money and he only had a few dollars but he spent it on cotton candy. He gave it to me and asked for a smile in return. I couldn't help but give him what he asked for. I had fun for the first time since my grandma had died and I will never forget that day. He gave me hope for a better future with a single smile and a little cotton candy."

"Aw! It was so cute of him to do that. He sounds like such a nice guy. Did you get away with it? The sneaking out part?"

Beca snorted. "No, they caught us as we climbed back into the house. We had eaten too much sugar and were giggling like crazy. But they only told us to not sneak out again and sent us to bed. We became best friends after that night."

"Thanks for telling me that story Beca. I realize that opening up is not something you usually do so I really appreciate that you told me. I guess I don't have anything to worry about then. Regarding Aubrey I mean. Someone who did that for a stranger can't be a bad person."

"He won't hurt her. At least not on purpose. He really is a great guy and wants what's best for everyone."

"I hope so. So what do you think about their relationship?"

Beca snorted. "Not much of a relationship yet, right? As far as I'm aware, Aubrey is still ignoring his calls."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, she is just confused. We talked to her and I really think she wants to give this a shot. But maybe they should sit down and talk a little until they jump into anything. I don't think they know much about each other."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best."

"But do you think it could work?"

Beca shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I don't know anything about Aubrey. I only know that Jesse really likes her and I hope she won't break his heart because then she'll have a problem."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Oh? You would fight her?"

"Not fight. I know I would lose. But I would yell at her. Loudly."

The redhead couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of Aubrey sitting at a table during lunch while Beca flutters around her, shouting at her while Aubrey carefully sips at her cup of coffee, unaffected by the angry little brunette.

"What?"

"Nothing." Chloe says, trying to stifle her laughter.

"I don't care. But I'm tired, so I'm going to bed now, okay?"

"So soon? But I won't keep you, don't worry. Sleep well, Beca."

Beca stood up and smiled a little at the redhead. "You too, thanks."

"Um, Beca?"

Beca turned around to look at Chloe, already halfway out of the room. "Yeah?"

"Um, I wanted to say sorry. About last Saturday at the mall. I won't bring it up again. But you can talk to me if you want to, okay?"

Beca stood still but nodded eventually. She had wondered if Chloe would bring up what she had seen in the changing stall that day but was relieved that she decided not to ask any questions. "Okay."

She turned around and left Chloe's room, quickly falling asleep as soon as she hit the bed in her own room.

The next day Marie picked her up at around 5 pm. School had been uneventful and Beca was glad for that. She really had had enough excitement in the last two weeks.

"Ready?" Marie asked as she stood in the hall of the Beale's house.

Beca, who was putting her shoes on, nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

The two said goodbye to Claire and Andrew and turned around to walk to the older woman's car. When they had been driving for a few minutes, Marie opened her mouth to ask a question. "Where was Chloe? I thought you two walked home from school together?"

Beca shrugged. "Not today. I think Tom wanted to talk to her so she stayed there. I think her friends waited for her."

"Didn't she break up with him?"

The small brunette nodded. "Yeah."

"Why did he want to talk to her then?"

"How am I supposed to know? Ask him."

Marie lifted an eyebrow. "Are you in a bad mood?"

Beca scowled. "Not particularly."

Laughing, Marie drove into the parking lot of the mall Beca had visited with Chloe and Stacie last weekend. "You so are. Any particular reason?"

Beca shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Sure. What about your head? Is it still giving you trouble?"

The little brunette shrugged. "Not really. I get the occasional headache, but other than that I'm fine. I have an appointment at the hospital for a check up on Friday and if everything is okay, I can go back to normal next week. Except for gym class. I need to sit out for another week."

Marie was a little surprised by the long answer, but didn't want to bring attention to it so she just smiled. "Sounds good. Say, is Chloe okay? After last Friday I mean. She talked to me when we were at the hospital last Saturday and I wanted to check up on her but hadn't had the time yet."

"Why didn't you talk to her during dinner last night?"

"With her parents right there? I don't think so. I don't know if she told them anything. And I thought I would ask you since you seem to be friends and you were there."

Beca sighed. "Well, I think she will be fine. He scared her pretty badly but she's strong. She even talked to him at school. And as long as he doesn't try something like that again, she'll be fine."

"I'm glad to hear that. Does she talk to you about it?"

"She did a few times. And I think she told her friends. At least I think so, if I'm interpreting the piercing looks Stacie and Aubrey are giving Justin at school correctly."

"That's good. So, we've been sitting in the parked car for the last 5 minutes, want to get started on the shopping?"

Beca groaned. "No. But we're already here, let's go."

"You agreed to this, we can just turn back to the house if you want."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

The two of them walked through the mall aimlessly for a few minutes when Beca suddenly stopped and turned her head to look at Marie. "Okay, we need a plan. What do you need?"

Marie had been deep in thought, thinking about ways to broach the topic she had wanted to talk with Beca about since yesterday. She woke up from her thoughts when Beca cleared her throat. "Um, what?"

Beca crossed her arms. "I asked you what we needed to buy so we could make a plan. I'm not walking around aimlessly until you decide to pay attention to your surroundings."

"Oh. Sorry, I've been thinking."

"Clearly." Beca replied unimpressed.

Marie rolled her eyes. "I got it, sorry. Okay, so I need to buy a present for my mom and my boyfriend. I already have presents for everyone else."

Beca lifted an eyebrow. "You have a boyfriend?"

Marie widened her eyes playfully and gasped. "That was rude, you could have asked that with a little less surprise, you know? What made you think I didn't have one?"

"Your schedule."

Marie opened her mouth to reply but stopped before a word could escape and thought about it for a moment before nodding. "You have a point there. Okay, you are right. But I do have a boyfriend, thank you very much."

"What's his name?" Beca didn't particularly care, but she thought this whole shopping thing would go over faster if she kept the older woman talking.

"Ian."

"Sounds nice. Okay, what do you want to get him?"

"Um, a tie?"

Beca snorted. "Right. Sounds like an awesome present."

Marie narrowed her eyes. "I know that it's not original. But the guy has me, what else does he need?"

Beca only looked at Marie.

The older woman grinned. "It was a joke, alright? And I'm really not good with presents."

"Hm. Do you live together?"

"Yeah."

"Something for the apartment then?"

Marie shrugged. "I don't know. We both don't really like all the little decorations and stuff."

"Does he play video games or something? Wait, how old is he?"

Marie rolled her eyes. "He is 32. And he does. But I don't know what kind of games he plays, I don't get them."

"You haven't thought about this at all, have you?"

"Well, I tried! But I'm not good at picking out presents."

"Why don't we walk around a little until you find something? What about your mom?"

"Oh, that's easier. She's been telling me for weeks that she wanted to get this one book but she hasn't had the time to pick it up yet."

"Let's go to the bookstore first then."

Marie agreed and the two of them walked to the book store to pick up the book for Marie's mother. After that they stopped to get some ice cream and sat down on a bench nearby.

"Beca?"

"Hm?"

"You like the Beales?"

The small brunette nodded. "Yes. I already told you that."

Marie nodded. "Yes, you did. I just wanted to make sure. So you wouldn't want to change foster parents if you had the option?"

Beca stopped eating her ice cream. "What are you saying Marie? Do they want me to leave?"

"No!" Marie hurried to reassure the girl. "It was just a theoretical question."

Beca scowled. "I don't believe you. Why would you ask that question for no reason if you know that I like them? What's going on?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

Beca stared at her social worker. She hadn't said nothing. She had said nothing she needed to concern herself with, which implied that there was something going on. Which most likely had something to do with her and foster parents.

"You aren't going to make me leave, are you?" Beca asked tonelessly, not wanting to show her fear to the other woman.

Marie shook her head. "Not if I can help it. Don't worry Beca, I'll work things out."

"That's really not reassuring! What is going on? What aren't you telling me?!"

Beca had jumped up from the bench and was glaring at Marie and gritting her teeth. Something was going on and she wanted to know what it was.

"Calm down Beca."

"I don't want to calm down! I don't want to leave! Can't you just let me live my last year and a half in the system in peace?!"

"Beca, I'm sorry for bringing this up. I just needed to know if you want to stay with the Beales. Please calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down when you want to dump me in another family after I've only been here for two weeks?"

"I don't want to dump you anywhere Beca. Please."

"Please what? Please understand? Please stop shouting because people are starting to look? Please do as you say? What?!"

Marie sighed. This wasn't how she imagined this conversation to go. Damn that man for coming into Beca's life now.

"You don't have an answer for me? Great, I'm out of here." Beca said and turned around to walk away.

Marie jumped up quickly and ran after the small girl. "Beca! Wait!"

Beca didn't wait but she wasn't running either so Marie managed to catch up to her pretty fast. "Beca, wait, please. I'm sorry for bringing this up. Please let me drive you home."

Beca turned her head to glare at her social worker. "You're sorry for bringing this up? So what, you wish you had never told me? I should be grateful you said something before I got too comfortable with the Beales. I don't want you to drive me, I'm taking the bus and I'm going to pack my things."

"Beca, honestly, can you stop and listen to me for one second?!"

"No!" Beca shouted and increased her walking speed. She still wasn't running and she didn't know why.

"You are not going anywhere! You don't need to pack your bag. Listen to me!"

The small brunette stopped abruptly. "So you say I won't have to leave?"

"No."

Beca raised her eyebrows. "Yet? Or at all?"

Marie sighed. "Not at all if I have anything to say about it."

Beca scowled. "That's not a definite answer. Is there a possibility that I need to leave sometime in the future?"

"Well..."

"Please don't lie to me!"

"Well yes. But I'll deal with this okay? I'm on your side."

Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Nobody is on my side." She mumbled and continued walking to the parking lot.

Marie didn't hear what Beca said but she was glad the girl was walking in the direction of the parking lot. They walked silently to the car and sat down in it. Marie wanted to say something reassuring but the dark look on Beca's face convinced her otherwise. She'd let the girl calm down and talk to her again tomorrow.

They arrived at the Beales house a little later and Beca got out of the car without another word to Marie. The social worker sighed but watched until Beca was safely inside before she drove off.

As soon as Beca was inside the house, she ran up the stairs and locked herself in her room.

Shit! She thought over and over. Shit shit shit shit shit! What have I been thinking? Marie was her social worker! It didn't matter how nice she appeared, Beca was sure she wouldn't tolerate such behavior from her.

Damn it, I really screwed up. Good job, Mitchell, now you'll have to live with the consequences. Better hope that Marie wouldn't punish her as harshly as her last social worker did when she did something he didn't approve of.

Beca sighed deeply and burrowed herself into her covers. She couldn't change what happened, she only hoped Marie wouldn't take her out of the Beale's house out of spite now.

She continued thinking in circles for a while longer until she fell into an uneasy sleep.

That could have gone much better, Marie thought and berated herself for her crude way of handling the situation.

Damn that man, she thought and grit her teeth. If he hadn't shown up now, Beca could finally have a chance of settling down somewhere safe. As soon as she had arrived at her home, she had sat down on her couch and thought back to the encounter she had had with a certain man on Monday afternoon.

_Marie dreaded this conversation. She had gotten a call from her boss that morning, telling her that the father of one of the foster children in her care had asked to speak to her. He said he didn't know that the mother of his child had died and he wanted to take over custody._

_When Marie had heard which kid he had been talking about, hope and dread had started circling through her veins simultaneously. She had a bad feeling about this but she desperately hoped something good would finally happen in Beca's life._

_She sat in a little cafe in the city waiting for Warren Decker. She didn't know anything about the guy but she hoped he was nice._

_After waiting for twenty minutes - she had been a little early - he came through the door around the time the meeting had been scheduled. He looked around a little until she lifted her hand in greeting. He walked over to her and stopped in front of her._

_"Miss Reynolds?"_

_Marie nodded. "Mr Decker I assume?"_

_He nodded and Marie motioned for him to sit down. "Do you want a coffee?"_

_"That would be nice." He replied and Marie motioned for a waiter. He quickly came over and took the order of two cups of coffee. Marie turned her eyes on Mr Decker and looked at him closely. He was a relatively tall man in his mid forties. He wore a dark gray suit and a green tie. His hair looked like he had weaved his hands through it nervously a few times. He hadn't shaved in a few days and his hands weren't as clean as they could be._

_"So, you're saying you're Beca Mitchell's father?"_

_He nodded. "I believe so. I know that you'll need to do a test to confirm my claim, but I am pretty sure she is my daughter."_

_Marie lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? What makes you so sure?"_

_"Her name for one. And she looks a lot like my grandma did when she was young. The age and birth date fits as well."_

_The social worker leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Why now? Where have you been all this time? The girl is sixteen years old and has never met her father before."_

_Warren Decker sighed. "I knew her mom didn't want me in their life. She never told me about Beca, I had to find out a few years later from her mother. I have to admit, I was in a bad place then, I had just lost my job and I knew I wouldn't be a good father. So I didn't make a move to meet her then. A few years later I couldn't find them. I asked some neighbors and they told me that my ex and her mother had died. They didn't know where Beca had been taken."_

_Marie raised her eyebrows again. "And you didn't think to contact the social services? You do know that children with no other family members who could take care of them are taken to foster families."_

_Warren Decker looked into his cup of coffee - which the waiter had brought a few minutes earlier - dejectedly. "I thought she would have found a nice family by then. I didn't want to ruin it for her. And I don't know a thing about being a father."_

_"Okay, so why now?"_

_"I saw her at school and knew that she must be my daughter. You see, I'm working as a janitor at her high school and when she started attending last week and looked so sad all of the time, I knew that I had to try and do something. But I didn't want to scare her by approaching her, so I called your boss. I really want her to live with me."_

_"And do you believe that that is something that she wants as well? And why do you think you would suddenly do a good job as a father?"_

_Warren Decker clenched his hands under the table where Marie couldn't see him. "I don't know her so I wouldn't assume I knew what she wanted. But she looks unhappy living with that girl."_

_"That girl? You mean Chloe Beale?"_

_He snorted. "Yes."_

_"You don't like her?"_

_"I know her kind, Miss Reynolds. I don't have anything against the girl personally, I haven't talked to her."_

_"She is a nice girl."_

_He shrugged. "Maybe."_

_"Okay, so first of all, we need to find out if you are really related to Beca. If that is the case, you'll have to answer a lot of questions, we'll check your finances to see if you're able to support her and we'll check out your apartment and check if it's suitable for a teenager to live in. There will be some more stuff, but that's the gist of it. Still want her to live with you?"_

_Marie had noticed the annoyed look in the man's eyes as she told him what he had to do to get Beca to live with him but his face didn't show any negative reaction at all. Something is not right with him, she thought as she mustered him._

_"Yes, I am prepared to do anything necessary to meet my daughter."_

_Marie nodded. "Okay. I'll see what I can arrange. Please stay away from her until everything is taken care of. I would advise you not to tell her who you are if you happen to come across her at school. That would only confuse her."_

_He nodded. "Of course."_

_Marie stood up then and stretched her hand out for him to shake. He stood up as well and shook her hand. His hand shake was uncomfortably tight._

_"It was nice to meet you Mr Decker. I'll see what I can arrange regarding your request."_

_He smiled at her. It didn't look very honest in Marie's opinion. "Thank you very much. It was nice to meet you too. I trust that you'll keep in contact?"_

_Marie nodded. "I will call you."_

_"Great. Good bye." He told Marie and made his way out of the cafe._

_She sat back down and thought about the guy. He did have a few features similar to Beca but that could just be coincidence. She couldn't find anything outwardly wrong with the guy but she had a bad feeling about him. Marie vowed to find out everything about the guy and check everything before she let the guy meet Beca. The girl had been hurt enough in her short life and Marie didn't want to get her hopes up if she told her that someone claimed to be her father. So she decided to take care of all the paperwork and check ups before she told Beca about him. But she needed to talk to Beca and see if she was as unhappy as Mr Decker claimed she was. She wouldn't take her out of her current family if she liked them enough to stay with them._

_The social worker quickly downed the rest of her - now cold - coffee and paid the waiter. It was then that she realized that Mr Decker hadn't paid for his coffee. She gritted her teeth as she walked out of the cafe. She had asked him if he wanted something to drink. He could have misunderstood that as an invitation. And normally Marie wouldn't have had a problem with paying for the cup of coffee but the guy hadn't even attempted to pay for himself._

_She wasn't a big fan of the guy. She hoped for Beca's sake that it had just been a bad first impression._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so sorry for not updating for so long. But I had a few problems figuring out how to write this chapter. I hope some of you are still interested in this story, I'll try to update more often from now on. This story is far from over :)


	17. Chapter 17

“Beca?”

The small brunette slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was buried under her covers in the Beales house and, judging by the rays of sunlight shining through her window, late for school.

"Damn it!" Beca cursed and jumped out of her bed. She grabbed a few pieces of clothing and quickly opened her door, nearly running over the redhead that stood in front of the door, ready to knock again. 

"Woah!" Beca exclaimed as she barely managed to stop before she slammed into Chloe. "Dude! I nearly ran you over! What are you doing here?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and grinned. "Good morning to you too. And to answer your question, I was going to wake you up. I don't want you to get in trouble for being late to school."

"Oh. Um, thanks. I'll just..." She motioned for the bathroom door and carefully slid her body past Chloe's.

The redhead grinned. "I'll wait downstairs and make you a toast. Strawberry jam, right?" She turned around and started walking down the stairs while Beca looked after her with a baffled expression on her face.

"You really don't have to..." She mumbled but Chloe was already in the kitchen and couldn't hear her.

Beca blinked a few times but then decided to think about Chloe's behavior some other time. She needed to get ready for school.

The girls rushed out of the house ten minutes later, Beca carefully chewing on a piece of toast Chloe had given her the moment she had descended the stairs. They weren't exactly late but there wasn't time to waste either so they started walking at a brisk pace.

Beca quickly ate her toast and then looked at Chloe. "Um, why don't you go ahead? I'll be right behind you."

Chloe turned her head to look at Beca. "Why? We always go together."

Beca sighed. "I know. But I don't want to bother you." She motioned to the pack of cigarettes that peeked out of the left pocket in her jacket.

"Oh. You want to smoke?"

Beca nodded.

"But you have never smoked on the way to school before."

Beca was starting to get annoyed. Yes, she didn't feel the need to smoke these last few days but today was not one of them. "No I didn't. But I need one now. And I don't want you to breathe it in. So please go without me. I'll catch up with you when I'm done."

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. "Did something happen? You only smoke when you're feeling stressed, right?"

Beca rolled her eyes and took out a cigarette. "I'm going to smoke now. I warned you." She lit it with a lighter and started walking away from Chloe. 

"Wait! Talk to me? Please Beca."

"Why?" Beca walked a little slower until Chloe reached her side.

"Because I want to know when something is going on with you. I want to help."

"You can't help me. You did a lot to make me feel welcome here and I'm grateful for that. But you don't have to do that anymore. I won't be here much longer."

Chloe stopped walking and gaped at the small brunette incredulously. "What? Beca? What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. Lets hurry up, we don't want to be late." The small brunette said and increased her walking speed.

"No, come on Beca, what's going on? Do you want to leave?" Chloe asked, following Beca's quick pace.

"No. But it's not my choice. It never has been."

"What? Beca, what is going on? Did something happen with Marie yesterday?"

"This has nothing to do with you. Why are you so interested in my life?"

"Because I care about you!" 

Beca stopped walking for a moment and looked at Chloe with confused eyes. "Why?"

Chloe groaned. "What do you mean why? We are friends. I care about my friends. And I don't want you to leave."

Beca slowly shook her head and started walking again, albeit a bit more slowly.

"Beca?" Chloe asked a few moments later when it didn't seem like the brunette would say anything to her statement.

"Hm?"

"Aren't you going to say anything about what I just said?"

"No. We have to hurry, we don't want to be late."

"Ugh, Beca! Can you please talk to me for once?!"

"Why? I don't see the point."

Beca continued walking until she heard a quiet sniffle behind her. She immediately stopped and turned her head to look at Chloe with wide eyes. "Dude! Are you crying?"

Chloe put her left arm in front of her face and continued walking. "No."

The small brunette sighed deeply. "Chloe come on. I didn't want to make you cry. But I don't know why you want to know so much about me. I'm a nobody. You shouldn't even be talking to me."

"See? That's what I don't understand. You have such a bad impression of yourself. Why? I get that your life hasn't been easy and I respect your decision of not talking about it but why are you looking down on yourself so much? Please tell me if I can help you. And I really don't want you to move to another house." Chloe had finally let her arm fall and Beca could see the other girl's watery eyes. No tears had fallen yet but if Beca evaluated the situation correctly, one wrong move on her part could make them fall.

"This really isn't the place for a conversation like that..." Beca muttered as she looked around them. They were standing on the sidewalk, about two blocks away from the school. There were a few students rushing past them and giving them questioning looks but since they were also late for school, nobody stopped to talk to them. But they knew who they were. Everybody knew Chloe Beale and the new girl.

Beca sighed deeply. "Okay. I'll tell you about yesterday. But not here."

Chloe's head snapped up and she looked at Beca with wide eyes. "Really?"

Beca rolled her eyes but nodded. "Yes. Now please stop crying."

"I wasn't."

"Right. Um, what about school?"

"Oh! Just a second, I'll text my mom. She will excuse us."

Beca lifted an eyebrow. "Really? Just like that?"

Chloe grinned. "The perks of being trustworthy and going to school regularly. She knows I wouldn't ask unless it was something important."

"This isn't important..." Beca mumbled and quickly got her phone out to send Jesse a quick message. She knew that he would start worrying if she didn't show up at school.

"It is." Chloe stressed and quickly typed on her phone. "Okay, mom will excuse us. Now, where do you want to go?"

Beca shrugged. "I don't really know where we could go."

"There is a nice park a few minutes from here. Want to go there?"

"Aren't there people that will ask us why we aren't at school? We don't really look old enough to be out of school."

Chloe shook her head. "No, don't worry. There aren't many people going to that park so early. Just a few joggers and people walking their dogs. I'm sure they'll mind their own business."

"If you say so."

Chloe nodded and started walking in the direction of the park, Beca following behind her uncertainly. She really wasn't sure if talking to Chloe would be a good idea. But she liked the other girl and it wasn't like she would be telling her all her secrets. Just what she had talked about with Marie yesterday.

They reached the park a few minutes later and Beca barely had time to look at her surroundings before Chloe sat down on a bench and motioned for Beca to join her. The brunette girl sat down next to her, hands grasping her jeans clad legs nervously. 

"Beca?"

"Hm?"

"What happened with Marie yesterday?"

Beca sighed. "We went shopping for presents. But I think she just used that as an excuse to talk to me."

"Why? She could have talked to you on the phone, right? Or during dinner the other day?"

"I think she wanted to deliver the news in person and when you guys weren't around. I probably would have hung up on her if she had called me."

"Really? What did she tell you?"

"Well, she didn't really want to tell me anything. She just implied that there is a possibility that I won't be staying with you guys for much longer."

Chloe's eyes widened. "What? No! I mean, do you want to? Live with another family?"

Beca snorted. "Of course not. I kind of like you guys."

"Well, where is the problem then?"

"The problem is that it's not my choice. If the state says I have to live with another family, I'm going to be living with them. I'm a minor, they can do whatever they want."

"But... Marie wouldn't force you to live with someone if you don't want to do that, right?"

"She told me she's trying to keep me with you guys but it's not that simple. She can't make that decision alone either. There are other people who have a say in this. It doesn't really matter if Marie doesn't want me to live somewhere else."

"That's... I don't even know what to say. Do you know why? Or who? Or when?"

Beca shook her head. "No. I got angry at Marie and didn't really listen to anything she said. And I don't think she wanted to give me any details either. They've always done whatever the hell they wanted with me so why stop now? I'm used to this. Marie is just like everybody else."

"I don't believe that. Marie is a good person."

Beca eyes darkened a few shades as she looked at nothing. "Nobody is a good person. Everybody has their secrets and their dark sides."

Chloe really wanted to comfort Beca but she knew that touching her would be a mistake. It seemed like she wasn't really there with Chloe. She looked like she was stuck in her head, seeing things that weren't really here right now. 

"Beca?"

Beca blinked a few times and turned to look at Chloe. "Yeah?"

"Let's call Marie and ask her."

"What? No!"

"Why not? Maybe she can give us some answers."

"No. She's angry with me."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Why? What did you do?"

"I yelled at her."

"And?"

"What?"

"Was there anything else you did?"

"Um, I didn't say good bye to her?"

Chloe couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Relax Beca, she isn't angry with you. Everybody yells every once in a while. Marie will understand."

"No Chloe, you don't get it. Marie isn't my friend. She is my social worker. She has power over me and if I offend her too badly, she can do whatever she likes to me. I was trying to avoid making her angry but I'm pretty sure I did it yesterday." Beca was fidgeting with her hands now, picking at her sleeves, folding and unfolding her hands and making random fists. 

Chloe decided to try calming her down, despite her fears of making things worse. She figured the hands would be a good place to start so she put one of hers on Beca's. The brunette immediately stopped moving and her whole body became tense. The redhead decided to let it go for now and let go of Beca. 

"I don't believe that Marie is angry at you. I'll call her and ask. Relax."

"I haven't relaxed in 8 years..." Beca mumbled but Chloe already had her phone on her ear and didn't hear the brunette's quiet words.

"Marie? Hey, it's Chloe. Listen, I've talked to Beca about your talk yesterday and she thinks you are angry at her."

"You're not? Great, that's what I was trying to tell her but she wouldn't listen to me. Do you want to talk to her? Great, just a second." 

Chloe held her phone out for Beca who looked at her with wide eyes. "She wants to talk to you. And she isn't mad."

Beca carefully took the phone from Chloe and took a deep breath before she started talking. "Marie?"

"Hey Beca. Listen, about yesterday, I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you and I can assure you, I'm not mad at you."

"But... I yelled at you."

Marie snorted. "Yes but you were upset. And I didn't get the opportunity to explain things to you. And I have to admit, I could have handled the whole situation a little smoother. I didn't even get my Christmas presents."

Beca couldn't help but grin at that. Not that Marie could see that, but Chloe certainly noticed.

"Um, okay. If you are sure. Can you maybe explain it to me now?"

"Are you sure you want to do this over the phone? I can meet you if you want. Wait, why aren't you in class?"

"Um..." Beca was starting to get nervous again. She had skipped school only once before and the consequences had been so dire, she had never dared to let it happen again. She even went when she was sick. 

"I was talking to Chloe and she texted her mom to excuse us because she wanted to talk to me. I'm sorry, it will never happen again, and I'm going there right now, so I think I'll only miss one class, I'm so sorry, and we can talk some other time, I have to go now..."

"Beca!"

Beca jumped a little at Marie's shout. "What?"

"You don't have to go to school today. It's fine. Relax. Do you want to meet me for a cup of coffee or something? We can talk about things then."

"Um, aren't you busy?"

"Not right now, I'm just doing paperwork. I can continue with it later. So, coffee? And bring Chloe, will you?"

"Um..."

"Great! There is a coffee shop not far from your school, do you know it? I think it's on the way to the Beale's house so you should know it."

"Yeah, I know where it is..."

"Okay then! I'll see you two there in fifteen minutes?"

"I guess so..."

"See ya!" Marie said and hung up. Beca only looked at the phone in her hand confusedly until Chloe moved a little.

"So? She wasn't mad, right?"

Beca shook her head. "No. She wants to meet us for coffee."

Chloe lifted her eyebrows. "Now?"

Beca nodded. "Yep. She'll be there in fifteen minutes."

The redhead smiled. "Great. I could really use some warm coffee, it's really cold today."

"Um, yeah. We should go then I guess." Beca mumbled and stood up, pulled her jacket around herself tighter and started walking to the coffee shop with Chloe.

They arrived there a few minutes later and went inside to a nice table in the corner. Beca sat down with her back to the wall, having a good view of the door. Chloe sat down next to her and waved to the friendly looking waitress who was clearing a table at the other end of the room. The waitress nodded and pointed at the table, trying to say that she would be with them in a minute. At least that was what Chloe got from the unexpected game of pantomime and nodded to her with a wide smile.

Chloe turned to look at Beca who was looking out of the window with a far away expression on her face. "Do you already know what you want to get?"

Beca blinked twice and turned her head to look at Chloe. "Um, I'm fine. I don't need anything."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Getting coffee isn't about need. People don't drink coffee because they are thirsty, they drink it because it tastes good, energizes them and it's a good way to create a good setting for a talk. So what do you want to drink? If you get uncomfortable you can just take a sip from your drink and buy yourself a few more seconds to think." Chloe added with a small wink. 

"Um, I guess a cup of coffee would be fine then."

"Great! Milk and sugar?" 

Beca shook her head.

The redhead nodded and ordered for them when the waitress came to their table two minutes later.

"So."

Beca looked at the other girl questioningly. "So?"

"Is Marie going to tell you about this new family?"

Beca shrugged. "I don't know."

"Hm. Do you want me to leave you alone with her? I don't really want to intrude or something."

"No, it's fine. You would have annoyed me until I told you what she said anyway. You can stay if you want."

Chloe smiled brightly and thanked the waitress who had just brought their coffees. Beca pulled her cup in front of her and folded her hands around the warm cup. She sighed quietly. Her hands had really been cold. 

She was just taking a sip out of her cup when the door opened and Marie stepped inside the shop and looked around until she found them. She walked over to them and smiled warmly. "Hey you two." Marie sat down across from Beca and got out of her jacket. The friendly waitress took her order and went into the kitchen, leaving them almost alone. There was only one other person in the cafe with them. A middle aged woman sitting at the counter and reading the papers while she ate a bagel and nursed a steaming cup of tea.

"I'm glad you two decided to meet with me. Yesterday really didn't go the way I wanted it to. I should have told you the whole story from the start. I'm sorry Beca."

Beca moved uncomfortably on her seat but managed to nod at Marie. "Um, it's fine. So you're not mad?"

Marie shook her head. "No. It was my fault. I should have handled that conversation better."

"Um, okay. Can you tell me the whole story then?"

Marie sighed. "Yeah. Are you okay with Chloe listening in on this? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Beca nodded. "Yes, it's fine."

Marie was surprised by the easy acceptance of Chloe but decided to let that go for now.

"Okay then. So my boss contacted me a few days ago. He said that the father of one of the foster children in my care wanted to speak to me."

Beca drew in a sharp breath and looked at the older woman with wide eyes. "My father?"

Marie nodded. "Yes. At least he claimed to be your father. He wanted to ask if there was a possibility of gaining custody of you."

"Why?" 

"Well, I assume he wants to get to know his daughter."

"Why now? I'm 16 years old! Where has he been all these years?!" Beca growled out, clearly not happy about what Marie had just told her. Chloe remained silent, only casting the occasional concerned glance in Beca's direction.

Marie sighed. "He said that he didn't know about you at first. Your grandma told him about you later but he wasn't really able to care for you then. And when he tried finding you a few years later, you had already been in the system and he couldn't find you. At least that is what he told me." Marie mumbled the last part quietly, not wanting for anyone to overhear. Beca heard her.

"You don't believe him?"

Marie's eyes widened. "Um, I'm sorry Beca. I didn't mean for you to hear that. It was nothing."

"Please tell me. I thought this was why we are here."

"Well..." The older woman sighed deeply. "Okay, so I only met him once. But he didn't really make a good impression on me. But that's only my opinion. Don't let my personal feelings get in the way of forming your own opinion."

"So you don't like him." Beca concluded. 

"I wouldn't go that far. I'm just a little weary about his intentions. But we really don't have to talk about the details right now. We're checking his data before we know anything specific. I just wanted to see if you are happy with the Beales because he claimed you looked unhappy. That's why I asked you about that yesterday."

"Wait, he said I looked unhappy? Where did he see me? And how did he know I was his daughter?"

Marie sighed. "Beca, I really don't want to tell you who he is. We still need to do a paternity test, he could be mistaken. I don't want to get your hopes up."

Beca snorted. "These aren't hopes, believe me. But I really want to know who he is. Please don't withhold this information from me. I think I have a right to know."

"But what if it turns out he isn't your father? All this excitement would have been pointless. I'm trying to make it easier for you."

"I've never had it easy, I won't start now." Marie was still a little unsure about telling Beca but the confident look in the girl's eyes made up her mind. She sighed deeply.

"Okay, his name is Warren Decker."

Chloe took in a sharp breath. "The creepy janitor?!"

Marie and Beca turned their heads to look at Chloe questioningly. "You know him?" The older woman asked after a few seconds of silence.

Chloe blushed slightly, a little embarrassed about her outburst. "Um, well not really. I know that he is the janitor at our school. I haven't really interacted with him. To be honest, I think he's rather creepy." She turned to look at Beca. "I mean, I'm sure he is a nice guy." 

Beca rolled her eyes. "Sure. Don't bother Chloe. And I think you are right, he looks kinda creepy. Do you know more about him Marie?"

"Not really. I know he's single and lives in Atlanta. And that he works at your school. We'll do a background check and if there is something wrong with the guy, we'll find out." Marie sighed deeply. "I really didn't want to tell you so much. But I guess being honest is the best way in this case. I'll tell you if I get new information, okay? Until then, relax and enjoy your time with the Beales. Are you excited about Christmas?"

Beca shrugged. "I don't really care."

Chloe drew in a big breath. "What? You don't like Christmas?"

"It's not that I don't like it. I just don't get what all the fuss is about. I mean okay, they are officially celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ but only a select few do that. Most people just use the opportunity to buy incredibly expensive things and eat a lot."

"... Well, you do have a point. But what is wrong with that?"

"It doesn't matter, okay? I just don't get the appeal of Christmas. There is no underlying reason you have to get out of me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Chloe said, looking at the other girl apologetically. 

"It's fine." Beca looked at Marie again. "Was that everything?"

Marie nodded and finished her cup of coffee. "I think so. Do you want me to drive you home?"

Beca shrugged but Chloe nodded. "That would be great. It's really cold and I don't want to be outside longer than necessary."

Marie nodded and quickly paid for their coffees. Beca wanted to object but a quick 'it's fine, I got it' from Marie made her shut up. They left the cafe and walked over to Marie's car. They arrived at the Beales house 5 minutes later and Chloe and Beca said a quick thank you to Marie before they went into the house. 

Andrew was at work and Claire seemed to be out of the house as well. Beca excused herself quickly and went back to bed. She had a lot to think about but she was really tired. She would deal with all the new information after a little nap.

 

The next few weeks went by without much action. After the girls had come back from their talk with Marie, Claire, Andrew, Chloe and Beca all sat down together and talked about the new information regarding Beca's alleged father. Beca even told them that she liked staying with them and would like to continue doing so, regardless of what the paternity test would reveal.

Beca decided that she wanted to give this man a chance but she didn't want to live with him. She would meet him if he asked but she wouldn't promise him anything. She had told Jesse about Mr Decker and he was happy for her but told her to be careful. The small brunette promised him she would be careful and that he could come with her when she met with him for the first time. 

They had been trying to gather some information on him but other than some strange looks from him and the fact that nobody really seemed to know anything about him, they found out nothing.   
They had another long talk about Beca's decision to run away. She promised him she wouldn't do that without talking to him first. He had been trying to convince her to give up on the ridiculous idea of living on the streets but hadn't succeeded in getting a promise out of her that she wouldn't run away. The best he had been able to get was the promise that she would talk to him first. He hadn't been happy with that but knew that that was all he was going to get at the moment.

Beca had started to not be scared all the time anymore. She wouldn't go so far as to say that she started to relax but she didn't panic as soon as she sat down to dinner with the Beales anymore. She even started eating more, much to Claire's and Chloe's delight.

Chloe was concerned about Beca but had enough problems on her own so she hadn't really been able to have a good conversation with her for a few weeks. They continued meeting up for some mixing and saw each other all the time at school, Bellas practice and at home but they were always around people and Chloe wasn't in the mood to ruin their mixing time with deep conversations.

Bellas practice was going great. Beca liked all of the girls and was happy to exchange a few light conversations. She was still mostly keeping to herself at practice but she was slowly starting to consider the notion of maybe making a few more friends aside from Jesse and Chloe. She liked making music with these girls and even though she would never take a solo, she was happy to stand in the background and support the other girls with a few carefully sung notes. 

Tom had started trying to win Chloe back. The redhead was done with him, which she had made clear on numeral occasions, but he didn't seem to want to give up. He had asked her if she wanted to do something after school nearly every day and even brought her flowers a few times. He constantly texted her and begged for forgiveness. Chloe had talked to him a few times but he was still pretty persistent.

Justin had thankfully kept his distance. He didn't really talk to anybody from Chloe's small circle of good friends and hadn't mentioned anything to anyone about the party. Beca's scathing looks may have had something to do with that.

Claire had managed to convince Beca to let her buy her a new winter jacket. Beca had protested for a while but when the temperature had dropped further and further, she eventually caved. She promised to pay her back but Claire had made sure she understood that the jacket was a gift.

Marie didn't have any new information yet so she had only talked to Beca on the phone a few times, making sure that everything was alright.

Life was peaceful. Beca hoped it would stay like that for a while. She was a little nervous about the pending visit from Chloe's brother Nathan but hoped that, if he was anything like his sister, things would go smoothly. He was scheduled to arrive a little before Christmas and stay for about a week. Maybe a little less, maybe a little more.

Two days before Christmas, Nathan arrived at the Beales house. Beca had been nervous the whole morning but steeled herself and shook his offered hand as Andrew introduced them to each other. Nathan smiled brightly, told her it was nice to finally meet her and promptly swept her up in a big hug. 

Beca's eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest. She tried to shove him away but he didn't seem to get her unspoken memo. Beca looked around wildly, trying to find someone who would help her. Her wild eyes met Chloe's bright blue one's and the redhead was already taking a step towards them, having seen Beca's panicked state. The brunette's heart was beating wildly and she started getting dizzy. Her chest felt really tight and she started trembling. The last thing she saw was Chloe yelling at Nathan to let her go and then everything faded into black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait... again. :/ But thanks to all of you who are still reading and enjoying my story :) This is not my favorite chapter and I'm not totally happy with it but I've been trying (failing) to make it better for a while now and I think it's just not meant to be. I hope the next one will be better :D


End file.
